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Airports reduce hours, close terminals following sharp decline in flight traffic
AP II has shortened the operational hours of more than 12 airports.
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The interior of Terminal 3 Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, is pictured in this undated photo. (JP /Wendra Ajistyatama)
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irports across Indonesia have reduced their operational hours and services, including by closing terminals, following a drop in flight traffic as a result of government-imposed social restrictions to slow down the spread of COVID-19.
State-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II (AP II), which manages airports in western Indonesia, is applying basic minimum operations at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, and Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East Jakarta. The two airports are the main gates for people in Greater Jakarta to travel by air.
The airport operator is temporarily closing terminals 1B, 1C and 2F at Soekarno-Hatta, while terminals 1A, 2D, 2E and all of Terminal 3 will remain open for 24 hours. At Halim Perdanakusuma, AP II will adjust operation depending on the number of daily flights.
Read also: Transportation industry seeks 'rescue package' to weather COVID-19 impacts
“The time slot [for flights] at Soekarno-Hatta and Halim Perdanakusuma has decreased, flight frequency has also decreased following the work-from-home instruction and PSBB [large-scale social restrictions] in Jakarta,” AP II president director Muhammad Awaluddin said in a written statement on Monday.
“AP II and airlines are also making sure that only half of the seats on every flight is occupied.”
According to Transportation Ministerial Regulation No. 18/2020, time slots for aircraft traffic at every airport must be reduced. The regulation also stipulates that each flight must operate at 50 percent of the total capacity to support social distancing.
Awaluddin said Aviation Security would ensure that passengers follow physical distancing rules and wear face masks at the airport.
AP II has reduced the operational hours of 12 other airports.
“However, we are always on standby, anytime, if an airplane with technical or operational issues is required to make an emergency landing at our airport. We are also ready to operate for cargo planes transporting medical supplies or other medical needs,” Awaluddin said.
Read also: Air passenger traffic falls sharply during stay-at-home period
Radin Inten II Airport in Lampung, for example, is now open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. instead of its usual schedule of 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Supadio Airport in Pontianak in West Kalimantan from 6 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. instead of 6 a.m. to midnight.
Meanwhile, Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport in Palembang, South Sumatra, is open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. instead of 5 a.m. to midnight, and Depati Amir Airport in Bangka Belitung Islands from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. instead of 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
