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ike most people in Jakarta who are planning for the annual mudik (homecoming exodus) to celebrate the Idul Fitri holiday with their families in their hometowns, Cindytia Fitriani had booked train tickets to Bandung, West Java, months ahead of the celebration.

Little did she realize that she would have to go back and forth to Gambir Station in Central Jakarta to reschedule her trip following the announcement of additional Idul Fitri leave on Wednesday.

The announcement was made after the religious affairs, manpower, and administrative and bureaucratic reform ministers signed a joint ministerial decree (SKB) on the 2018 Idul Fitri public holiday and collective leave.

They declared that workers will have a total of 10 days’ leave for Idul Fitri this year. Adding to the Idul Fitri public holiday on June 15-16 and the initial leave on 13-14 and 18-19, the government has officially given three extra days, which will fall on June 11-12 and 20.

Soon after the announcement, netizens reacted on Twitter under the hashtag #CutiLebaranTambah3Hari (three extra Idul Fitri leave days), which topped Indonesia’s trending topics for hours.

An account named @muh_kharji said he felt grateful for the new policy but, “workers in private companies like me will get their annual leave reduced [because of the extra Idul Fitri holiday]”.

Another account @denygree agreed, “I’d prefer to use a few days off in another month.”

Despite the fact that their annual leave might be cut as a consequence of the extra Idul Fitri days off, many workers said they did not mind.

It is just the extra effort they need to make and the extra money to spend in rescheduling their trips that left them scratching their heads.

“I’ve tried to reschedule my trips the way I bought them, which was through an online ticketing app. But apparently I still have to go to [Gambir] station and I’m being charged an extra 25 percent on the ticket price,” Cindytia told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

She initially planned to depart on June 13 and come back on June 19, but she is planning to reschedule the departure to June 8.

“I came to the station yesterday to find a long line of people queuing for the same purpose as me and I gave up. I’ll go there again on Friday, hoping that it’ll be less crowded. Wish me luck,” she added.

Marti Riyani shared the same experience with Cindy. The Slawi, Central Java, native said she and her husband had booked a train trip to their hometown on June 12 and the return trip on June 18.

“I plan to depart earlier on June 10, unfortunately the remaining tickets are executive class, which cost up to Rp 1 million [US$72],” Yani said, noting that economy-class tickets to Slawi during the Idul Fitri holiday were usually around Rp 95,000 to 150,000.

“Now I’m hoping that some people will cancel their tickets. I also hope that state-owned railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia [KAI] will provide additional trains,” she said.

A Jambi native who works in a state-owned bank in Melawai, South Jakarta, Thoriqon Alkahvy, meanwhile, said he had waited for the government to announce the fixed Idul Fitri public holidays and leave dates.

“I’ve yet to purchase any ticket for the holiday. There’ll always be plane tickets available on the Jakarta-Jambi route. I don’t mind paying millions of rupiah as long as I can spend more time with my family,” said the 24-year-old.

Plane fares from Jakarta to Jambi, which usually range from Rp 400,000 to Rp 500,000, could double during the Idul Fitri holiday, Alkahvy added.