The destinations of Denpasar, Bali, and Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, are the busiest flight routes at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, as the Christmas-New Year holiday season kicks off this month.
According to the Assistant Deputy for Communication and Legal Affairs of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Holik Muardi, apart from Bali and Balikpapan, other domestic routes such as Surabaya and Makassar are also among the favourite passenger destinations this holiday season.
“The Denpasar, Surabaya, Makassar, and Balikpapan routes have occupied the top five domestic flight destinations during Christmas and New Year [so far],” Muardi said, as quoted from the press on Sunday, the 8th of December.
Meanwhile, as an anticipatory measure to handle the peak of passengers in the coming weeks, PT Angkasa Pura Indonesia (InJourney Airports), the manager of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, will enhance various service facilities.
“Of course, we will add facilities to support passenger comfort, such as adding golf cars and luggage trolleys. Although the Passenger Service Charge is given a discount during Christmas and New Year, service remains a priority,” Muardi continued.
Muardi also divulged that, as of now, passenger traffic at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport has reached 140,000 movements per day, including arrivals and departures. Moreover, the number of aircraft movements stands at 990 flights per day. Muardi expressed hopes that this trend will continue, particularly given the ticket price discounts offered during the Christmas-New Year holiday period.
“We hope that passenger traffic will continue to increase, especially with the decrease in ticket prices. This is expected to re-energise the national aviation sector,” Muardi added.
In addition, the President Director of InJourney Airports, Faik Fahmi, predicted that the airport would handle approximately 175,000 passenger movements per day. This trend is likely to occur due to InJourney Airports having implemented a reduction in airport service rates, which applies to both flight passengers and airlines, thus directly impacting airfare prices.
“Like in Cengkareng [the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport], the average mobilisation is 150,000; soon, we project 170 to 180 thousand per day,” Fahmi said, as quoted from the press on Wednesday, the 4th of December.