The firm plans to expand its international seat capacity by 14.75 percent to 14 million seats this year, with 9.34 million seats, or 66.71 percent, to derive from Soekarno-Hatta in Tangerang, Banten.

The available international seat capacity is considered insufficient to support the official target to attract 15 million and 20 million foreign tourists this year and next. The shortage this year stands around 2 million seats.

One of the strategies to increase airport traffic is to reduce the number of aircraft that remain over night (RON), particularly at Soekarno-Hatta, where, at present, around 149 aircraft are parked each night.

“It is necessary to move out parked aircraft to make space for new arrivals. We prioritize moving out smaller aircraft like the ATR and Bombardier,” AP II president director Muhammad Awaluddin said recently.

Incentives, such as free parking and landing, would be provided to airlines willing to shift their stored aircraft from Soekarno Hatta to other airports, such Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II in Palembang, South Sumatra and Kualanamu International Airport in Medan, North Sumatra, as well as to those opening new routes, he added.

Furthermore, AP II may also extend the operation hours of its airports to considerably boost flight traffic.

The company, overall, aims to raise the international seating capacity at Soekarno-Hatta to at least 16 million seats by 2019 to cater to the demand of tourists, nearly 80 percent of which travel by air.

The airport’s ongoing and upcoming infrastructure projects, such as a third runway and the east cross taxiway, are also expected to increase flight movement.

The airport’s two current runways are set to shoulder 86 flight movements per hour, up from the current 72 flight movements.

In response to the plans, Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said AP II’s measures were on track with the government’s goal to make Soekarno-Hatta Indonesia’s top tourism gateway. However, he criticized the staggering contrast between the airport and Changi Airport in neighboring Singapore, which holds 38.4 million seats. With such sizeable seating capacity, the city state can attract 12.6 million foreign tourists, according to AP’s data.

“The gap is still too high. As a global player, we have to use a global standard,” he said.

Additionally, Indonesian National Air Carrier Association (INACA) scheduled airline division head Bayu Sutanto said the financial incentives from AP II were good offers.

“However, it should be supported by extended operational hours in airports outside Jakarta so the rotation of aircraft can spread out and they will not be idle. If this is done, I think the number of aircraft that RON in Soekarno-Hatta [Airport] will be reduced,” he said.

Bayu, however, noted that airlines still opted to park their aircraft at Soekarno-Hatta because the bulk of airline traffic is located there and the majority of economic activity is heavily concentrated in Jakarta.

Public relations manager of private carrier Sriwijaya Air, Agus Soedjono, meanwhile, said the airline had to “calculate the costs first” before taking any further action as flying to more destinations increased costs for crew accommodation.

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