ER
AVIATION observer Alvin Lie said the Ministry of Transportation’s policy to reduce airline ticket prices by 10% during Christmas 2024 and New Year 2025, or Nataru, is burdening airport operators and airlines.
“This forced ticket price reduction policy is very burdensome for airport operators and airlines,” he said in a news application on Saturday, (01/04), 2025.
According to Alvin, the policy is disproportionate because it burdens one party, so it will disrupt and affect the quality of flights. “The policy has a negative impact on their financial health, which can ultimately jeopardize flight safety and the sustainability of related businesses,” he said.
According to data released by the General Directorate of Air Transportation, the total number of air passengers increased by 10% during Christmas 2024 and New Year 2025.
Nevertheless, Alvin believes that the figure does not show a significant increase, as the increase was 10 percent compared to the same period last year. “It is only equivalent to the average growth this year compared to last year,” he said.
Meanwhile, Air Transportation Assistant Director General Lukman F. Laisa said the 10% increase in the number of passengers showed that the public’s interest in using airplanes as a mode of transportation during the Christmas and New Year period has increased significantly.
“This year, it turns out that public interest in using airplanes as a means of transportation during Christmas and New Year is quite high. The number of air passengers increased by 10 percent compared to last year. This figure is higher than the previous forecast of only 5 percent,” he said.
The majority of flights during the Christmas and New Year period were domestic flights. In detail, 3,015,813 passengers traveled domestically (based on the monitoring of 56 airports) and 859,219 passengers traveled abroad (based on the monitoring of 17 airports).
The increase in domestic passengers was also recognized by national carriers such as the Garuda Indonesia Group. The number of Garuda Indonesia and Citilink passengers increased by 24 percent during the Christmas and New Year period. This year, Garuda carried 38,992 passengers and Citilink 38,560 passengers.
“The increase in passengers is mainly in domestic flights. Garuda Indonesia Group operates 482 flights including 44 additional flights during this Nataru period,” said PT Garuda Indonesia President Director Wamildan Tsani Panjaitan in his official statement. [sources/photo special]
