Passengers will have to pay more to fly with low-cost carriers (LCC) as a number of airlines are set to charge additional fees for checked baggage.

Magdalena Uli, a 22-year old university student, said the new rule enforced by the LCCs would be burdensome for her, a frequent passenger on Indonesia’s budget airlines.

She travels from Medan to North Tapanuli regency in North Sumatra four times a year to visit her grandparents, with round-trip airline tickets costing her around Rp 700,000 (US$49.53) during low season and Rp 1.4 million during high season.

“When I travel using Wings Air from Medan to North Tapanuli, I always bring luggage weighing more than 10 kilograms because I have to bring my clothes, laptop and so on,” she told The Jakarta Post.

At least three LCCs, Lion Air, its subsidiary Wings Air and Citilink are set to charge the additional fees.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Lion Air Group said Lion Air and Wings Air would begin charging additional fees for customers with checked baggage exceeding 7 kg for domestic flights.

Passengers who purchased their tickets before the announcement, however, are still entitled to Lion Air’s 20 kg free baggage and Wings Air’s 10 kg. The additional fees will be effective from Jan. 22.

Passengers are advised to purchase pre-paid baggage vouchers through Lion Air’s official website, Lion Air Group ticket sales offices or tour and travel agencies, Lion Air Group corporate communications spokesman, Danang Mandala Prihantoro, said.

Following Lion Air Group’s announcement, Citilink issued a similar statement on Thursday, stating that it would introduce new charges for checked baggage for its domestic flights.

“According to [existing regulations], no-frills airlines are allowed to charge for checked baggage,” said Citilink vice president of sales and distribution Amelia Yaksa Parijata in an official statement, adding that the airline was currently in discussions with stakeholders on the new provision.

The two airlines did not specify their fees for checked baggage.

Meanwhile, AirAsia said that as of now, it would maintain its checked baggage policy for domestic flights, where the fee is already included in the ticket price.

Provisions regarding checked baggage are stipulated in Transportation Ministerial Regulation No. 185/2015 on passenger service standards for economy class, which states that airlines can determine service standards based on their categories.

There are three categories for Indonesian airlines, namely full service, medium service and no-frills. Airlines that are categorized as full service are Garuda Indonesia and Batik Air, while Trigana Air, Travel Express, Sriwijaya Air, NAM Air and Transnusa Air Service are medium service and Lion Air, Wings Air, Indonesia AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia Extra, Citilink Indonesia and Asi Pudjiastuti Aviation are categorized as no-frills airlines.

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has given the green light to LCCs to start charging baggage fees, as long as they disseminate the information clearly to the public for at least two weeks beforehand.

“In fact, there will be a positive impact from this new policy. People will start thinking about bringing only what is needed, which will make the [check-in] process more efficient as they do not need to queue for a long time,” he said.

The Indonesian National Air Carriers Association (INACA) also expressed support for the new policy.

“That’s their business decision, and it is totally fine as long as they follow the Transportation Ministry’s regulation,” Bayu Sutanto, scheduled flight division head of the INACA, told the Post.