TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The high prices of airline tickets during the Idul Fitri or Eid holiday period is touted as the reason why sales of extra flights declined.

The Transportation Ministry reported that the number of extra flights issued by airlines during the Eid holiday period, which is one week before until four days after the Idul Fitri, declined by 44.12 percent in total. This happened despite the 75.57 percent flight approval.

The ministry's data showed that as per June 10, additional flights for domestic routes only reached 484, down 42.59 percent from 2018's 843 extra flights. For international routes, there were only 20 extra flights, down by 66.1 percent from 2018's 59 extra flights.

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According to the ministry's director general of air transportation, Polana B. Pramesti, the number of passengers flying during the period also fell. During the 2018 Eid holidays, 3.8 million people flew, while this time only 2.7 million people did.

"The ticket price ceiling was lowered, so logically the sales prices should be cheaper. However, it is normal that airlines pegged their prices up during Eid season. Our research and development division is currently reviewing it," Polana said on Monday, June 10.

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