TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - State-owned airport operator Angkasa Pusa I (AP I) President Director Faik Fahmi talked of the impact of the war between Russia and Ukraine which pushed global oil prices to the highest level. The volatility of the world's reference oil price increased the price of jet fuel or avtur, causing airlines' operating costs to swell and flight ticket fares to rise.

“The conflict in Ukraine needs to be anticipated because the avtur price tends to increase which will have an impact on tickets,” said Faik in a webinar on aviation with the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Wednesday, March 9.

Faik said that although the COVID-19 pandemic begins to shift into an endemic, the aviation sector would not necessarily be recovered.

Citing global projections by various international institutions, Faik said the people’s mobility remains low due to fluctuations in COVID-19 cases. The traffic of the international flight, for example, is projected to return to normal in 2023.

Asia is considered to be the region that would take the longest time to recover given their strict health protocols. At present, the passengers' traffic in the region is only 40 percent compared to normal times or before the pandemic.

Meanwhile, North America would lead the recovery with more than 80 percent of traffic. “So the regulation is also one of the influential factors for the traffic of air passengers and the recovery of the [aviation] industry,” Faik said.

Read: Govt to Revoke Travel Covid-19 Test Mandates; Aviation Observer Approves

FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA