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undreds of migrant workers from Lombok and Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara, have begun traveling home to celebrate Idul Fitri with relatives.

“I’m coming with five colleagues. We took lebaran leave,” Ridwan Hadi said after arriving from Kuala Lumpur at Selaparang Airport in Mataram. Lebaran is another name for Idul Fitri.

Ridwan, from Aikmel, East Lombok, said he took a three-week leave for Idul Fitri.

He has worked at a palm plantation in Malaysia for three years.

He saved Rp 17 million (US$1,990) for new clothes for his wife and children and to buy land. He saved the money from his salary last year.

The local office for recruiting and placing migrant workers, BP3TKI, said 954 migrant workers from West Nusa Tenggara returned home as of late Tuesday.

“The data came from Selaparang Airport,” office head Abdul Halim said.

“The actual figure is more than this, because many workers take domestic flights from Jakarta and Surabaya,” he said.

Most of the travelers work in Malaysia, with only a few working in the Middle East.

Halim said that around 10 percent of the travelers were coming home after their contracts expired. Those who took leave would be back to work usually one or two weeks after Idul Fitri.

“The fact that they flew home shows that the progress from their work in Malaysia has met expectations. The tickets are from Rp 1.2 million to Rp 1.5 million. A return ticket costs between Rp 2.8 million and Rp 3 million. It means they have financial capability,” Halim said.

The Kuala Lumpur–Mataram route is also served by Ailk Air, which transports between 125 and 150 workers per trip. The fight operator runs three days a week. Merpati used to be part of the fleet.

Many workers disembarked in Jakarta and Surabaya before continuing via domestic flights.

“They are not included in the data. Only those with direct flights from Kuala Lumpur are recorded in the data,” Halim said.

West Nusa Tenggara sent the second-most workers overseas after East Java, with an average of 50 ,000 heading abroad, mostly to Malaysia, annually.

The province sent 56,000 of workers in 2006. As many as 39,000 have gone this year, far more than the 22,000 that were projected, sent by 268 recruitment companies.

“Eagerness is rising every year,” Halim said.

The workers contribute Rp 500 billion a year in remittances, almost half the budget. Last year remittances topped Rp 538 billion, while this year has seen Rp 273 billion as of July.

“We got that data from the banks. The real amount could be more than that because a few workers have friends pass the money to their relatives,” he said.