Airplane Passengers Go Home Early, Avoid Skyrocketing Tickets

Airplane passengers return home early to avoid skyrocketing ticket prices at the peak of the homecoming flow.

KOMPAS/YOSEPHA DEBRINA R PUSPARISA

A mother and her child watched a plane about to take off at Yogyakarta International Airport on Wednesday (3/4/2024), seven days before Eid al-Fitr 2024.

YOGYAKARTA, KOMPAS — Air transportation is starting to enter the busy period of homecoming traffic. Passenger density is starting to be seen at a number of airports. Passengers choose to go home early to avoid skyrocketing ticket prices at the peak of the homecoming flow.

The increase in homecoming traffic can be seen in Yogyakarta International Airport, on Wednesday (3/4/2024). The airport is starting to be filled with people who are going home early. A number of homecoming travelers are seen bustling in the waiting room.

Some of them are students who have started going back home from Yogyakarta. They left earlier to avoid the skyrocketing ticket prices during the peak of the exodus.

"The ticket price for Yogyakarta-Samarinda for today's departure is IDR 1.4 million. Although relatively expensive, it is still cheaper compared to the departure on Saturday (April 6th, 2024) which costs IDR 1.7 million," said Fandi (28), a student at Gadjah Mada University, at Yogyakarta Airport.

Also read: Unlike other regions, Yogyakarta faces four spikes in traffic flow

KOMPAS/YOSEPHA DEBRINA R PUSPARISA

The atmosphere of Yogyakarta International Airport on Wednesday (3/4/2024). On the 7th day before Lebaran, some of the passengers are Yogyakarta's students who will go back to their respective hometowns.

The Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) estimates that homecoming traffic will start on Wednesday. Some people started leaving for their hometowns to start their homecoming on D-7 Lebaran.

PT Angkasa Pura I (Persero), which manages the Yogyakarta Airport, estimates a 11 percent increase in the number of passengers at the airport this year compared to the 2023 Eid al-Fitr homecoming traffic. The total number of passengers during this homecoming period is estimated to reach 262,767 people, or an average of 13,000 passengers per day.

"We opened a Lebaran post for 16 days from April 3-18. The average number of passengers until yesterday is still around 10,000 people, indicating no increase," said Ike Yutiane, Yogyakarta Airport's Stakeholder Relation Manager.

The peak of the exodus is projected to occur on H-4 Lebaran or Saturday. A total of 15,915 to 16,666 people will fly through Yogyakarta Airport. On the other hand, the peak of the return flow is predicted to occur on H+4 Lebaran or Monday (15/4/2024). The airport will accommodate the movement of 17,231 to 18,390 people.

Other airports under PT Angkasa Pura II (Persero) have also entered the period of Eid al-Fitr homecoming transportation. There are six busiest airports, namely Soekarno-Hatta Airport (Banten), Kualanamu (North Sumatra), Supadio (West Kalimantan), Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II (South Sumatra), Minangkabau (West Sumatra), and Sultan Syarif Kasim II (Riau).

"Along with that, as many as 20 airports managed by PT Angkasa Pura II opened a Ramadan Transport Monitoring Post from April 3 to April 18, 2024," said VP of Corporate Communications for PT Angkasa Pura II, Cin Asmoro.

Soekarno-Hatta Airport, which is the busiest airport, predicts the peak of homecoming traffic this Saturday. Similarly, at Yogyakarta Airport, the peak of return traffic is expected to occur on Monday (April 15th, 2024).

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In a broader scope, Angkasa Pura I and Angkasa Pura II, which are integrated into the parent company (holding) InJourney Airports, estimate that the number of passengers they serve during the homecoming flow will reach 7.97 million passengers at 35 airports. The passenger target is an increase of 10 percent compared to the realization in 2023 which reached 7.22 million passengers.

KOMPAS/ISMAIL ZAKARIA

Prospective passengers enter the departure gate of Lombok International Airport in West Nusa Tenggara on Wednesday (20/4/2024). During the 2024 Eid al-Fitr holiday, Lombok Airport is predicted to serve 135,119 passengers.

aircraft movements also increased following the trend of increasing passengers. InJourney Airports estimates that there were 57,778 aircraft movements, an increase of 7 percent from last year's realization in the same period.

An increase in cargo movement is expected to be much larger. InJourney predicts that it will send 51,200 tons of cargo during this year's Eid al-Fitr, an increase of 18 percent compared to last year's Eid, which only saw 43,550 tons.

A total of 14 airports proposed 2,470 additional flights (extra flights) from 12 airlines. There are also the six busiest airports which will operate 24 hours.

"We predict that the three busiest airports during the 2024 Eid post period will be Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Bali's I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport and Surabaya's Juanda Airport. "Even so, we will still provide maximum service at all managed airports," said Main InJourney Airports Director Faik Fahmi.

Also read: Government Suggests Homecoming Early to Avoid Congestion in Cipali