TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - State-run airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II (AP II) recorded the highest flight frequency since the COVID-19 pandemic at Soekarno-Hatta Airport on Thursday, August 20. Throughout the day, the international airport had 530 scheduled flights.

“During the adaptation of the new habit period, the optimization of the flight slot time has reached 40-45 percent,” said AP II CEO Muhammad Awaluddin in a statement, Friday, August 21.

Awaluddin said the hike was driven by the long weekend of the Islamic New Year. The pattern, he said, was similar to that during the normal condition before the pandemic. The flight frequency during long holidays was usually higher than the previous days.

AP II conducted a dipstick survey on 240 random respondents aged between 20 to 49 years old. It showed that 51 percent of them claimed to understand and the rest 49 percent fully comprehend the health protocols for air transportation.

Besides, 64 percent of them were sure about aviation security, 27 percent said they highly believed in it, and the rest were unsure.

The respondents were also asked about the security in the aircraft cabin. Most of them, at 65 percent, said they were sure, 25 percent said they were highly confident about it, nine percent said they were unsure, and one percent said they were highly unsure.

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FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA