“Air travel already declined during last year’s [Christmas exodus]. This year, the number of journeys is predicted to shrink by around 8 percent. That’s because 70 percent of holidaymakers travel on Java Island, and the transportation infrastructure is improving there. Maybe people have shifted their preference from air to land-based transportation,” said the ministry's air transportation director general, Polana B. Pramesti, during a public discussion on Monday.

“Nationally, the seat capacity for the Christmas holidays between Dec. 14 and Jan. 6, 2020, is around 8.9 million seats for both domestic and international flights on 494 routes. We predict that the number of passengers will be around 5.3 million, so there is still enough capacity,” she said.

The ministry’s research and development director general, Sugihardjo, predicted that only 24 percent of holidaymakers would choose to fly.

Despite the shrinking number of air travelers, the ministry has received 222 requests for extra flights for the upcoming holiday season.

According to the ministry’s survey, around 60 percent of holidaymakers will use land-based transportation. Most of the land transportation will be by private vehicle (48 percent), followed by buses (8 percent), rented cars (2 percent) and motorcycles (2 percent).

“The traffic is expected to peak on Friday, Dec. 20, except for those who use buses, who will face peak traffic on Dec. 21. There’s also a second peak on Dec. 27 for those who travel to celebrate New Year’s Eve. The return traffic is predicted to peak on Jan. 1 and 2, while for air traffic it is predicted to peak on Jan. 5,” he said.

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