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Price hike hits Indonesian airports as travelers ship out in Idul Fitri exodus
State-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II (APII) executive general manager Fahrozi said the number of plane passengers had declined by 23.5 percent to around 7,000 passengers per day in the last four months
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Illustration of airport terminal (Shutterstock/Shine Nucha)
A
lthough this year’s Idul Fitri exodus has been relatively less troublesome for those traveling by car and on buses, many other vacationers heading to their hometowns have no other choice but to purchase expensive airplane tickets or cram themselves into crowded ships.
Paiq, a private employee from Muara Enim regency in Palembang, South Sumatra, for example saw no other alternative but to travel by plane.
He was bound for his hometown in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, from the Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II (SMB II) Airport in Palembang.
He said the high airfare was regrettable, but it was a price he was willing to pay as air travel was the only available option. So, he booked a plane ticket, along with a train ticket, weeks before Idul Fitri.
“Tickets for the Palembang-Balikpapan route used to cost Rp 1.7 million [US$ 119], but now it costs Rp 2,3 million. I don’t know how much I would’ve had to pay if I had booked a ticket a few days before Idul Fitri,” he told The Jakarta Post.
A traveler bound for her hometown in Bali, Ni Made Terni Astari, echoed his complaint. She said she had to pay Rp 3.9 million for a plane ticket from Palembang to Denpasar.
Airfares remained high even weeks ahead of Idul Fitri, Terni said. However, she still chose to travel by plane to get to her hometown faster, considering her limited vacation days.
