TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - CEO of The Indonesian Flight Navigation Service Organizer Body (LPPNPI), also known as AirNav Indonesia, Novie Riyanto said that the surge in airfare indirectly affected the flight frequency that declined by 15 percent since early 2019.

“For example, the air movement in Soekarno - Hatta Airport previously amounted to 1,000-1,100 per day, and now drops by around 15 percent,” said Novie in Jakarta, Tuesday evening, May 14.

The number of flights, Novie added, increased in early Ramadan at over 1,000 per day and again dropped to 850 aircraft movements per day in the first and second week of the fasting month.

Novie hoped the figure would rise in the third week of Ramadan that is in line with the beginning of Eid homecoming or mudik lebaran season. According to him, the current condition contrasted to that of last year when the flight frequency had never decreased and gradually rose.

He further mentioned that several factors behind the drop in the flight frequency included the airfare hike and the newly-operated Trans Java Toll. “But it actually requires a long analysis, for example, flights on Jakarta - Surabaya or Jakarta - Denpasar route. Some people now prefer to use cars (land transportation) because of the smooth road.”

Following the drop in flight frequency, Novie went on to say, air carriers must take efficiency measures. “Because the number of flights decreases, [it automatically affect] our revenue. So we have to make an adjustment,” he added. However, the drop was covered by the revenue from the end route and overflying.

The government has officially set to lower the airfare upper limit by 12-16 percent. The 12 percent reduction will be applied to primary routes within the Java region. Meanwhile, other rates of reduction will be applied for routes outside of Java, such as flights to Jayapura.

The decision is made after the government recorded the surge in domestic tickets since the beginning of 2019, and that the airlines tariff did not decrease until January 10.

CAESAR AKBAR