TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Lombok is one of 10 cities that received incentive discounts up to 50 percent on plane tickets. The government also does not collect taxes from hotels and restaurants. The policy is implemented to encourage tourism in 10 tourist destinations due to the lack of foreign tourists who are afraid to travel because of the coronavirus.

Until early March, the flights to and from Lombok International Airport (LIA) are still normal as they still serve flights from Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and Perth. A total of 8,947 people are departing and arriving on March 1, 2020, while on March 2, there were around 7,491 people.

According to LIA Communication & Legal Manager Arif Haryanto, they have not been affected by the Covid-19 outbreak. As an anticipative measure, the airport provides thermo-scans installed in the domestic and international arrival halls. "We are ready to monitor passengers through their thermal scanners," he said.

In January 2020, the international airport served 256,594 passengers, while in January 2019 only 211,772 passengers. "This means [there's] an increase of 21.1 percent. In February 2020, Lombok Airport served 229,376 passengers, while in February 2019 there were only 184,260 passengers or an increase of 24.5 percent," Arif added.

On Tuesday morning, March 3, 2020, the airport cooperated with the Central Lombok District Health Office, to organize mobile health services for the people live around the airport area. The services will be carried out until October 2020.

Supriyantho Khafid ( Contributor ) | Galuh Kurnia Ramadhani (Intern Translator )