TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Panjaitan stated that the operation of foreign airlines in Indonesia should be studied, in a bid to offer more competitive ticket prices.

"We should be careful about it, because we already have AirAsia airlines," Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said here on Tuesday.

The government, he noted, is still learning about rules regarding shared ownership of foreign airlines operating in Indonesia.

"We will look and learn about the rules," the senior minister stated.

Luhut opined that the ideas by President Joko Widodo regarding the operation of foreign airlines would be carried out gradually.

"Foreign airlines can operate in Indonesia, but we have to do it slowly," the minister said.

He remarked that Indonesia's domestic flight tickets are priced as the sixth lowest in the world

However, he admitted that there are a number of factors involved in an increase in flight ticket prices.

He argued that one of the factors is the price of jet fuel. The price of fuel is higher than the Mid Oil Singapore price.

Another factor are the inefficiencies that have impacted the operations of the country’s two main airlines, Garuda Indonesia and Lion Air.

ANTARA