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Recent crash unlikely to affect air travel demand, experts say
“I think there will be some people who are taken aback by the incident and cancel their trip, but the majority of people will not be affected,” aviation observer Arista Atmadjati told The Jakarta Post in an interview on Tuesday.
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Travelers walk toward a checkpoint prior to boarding their planes at Terminal 3 at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, on Dec. 23, 2020. (Antara/Muhammad Iqbal)
T
he recent deadly crash of Sriwijaya Air flight SJ182 is not likely to significantly impact the demand for air transport, which is supported by the government’s recent initiative to allow more passengers on board, experts have stated.
“I think there will be some people who are taken aback by the incident and cancel their trip, but the majority of people will not be affected,” aviation observer Arista Atmadjati told the Jakarta Post in an interview on Tuesday.
The first quarter of the year is typically a low season for airlines, which is expected to last until the first two weeks of Ramadan, which will fall in April. Afterward, travel demand is forecast to slowly rebound to pre-COVID levels, he said.
Similarly, aviation observer Gerry Soejatman said that as long as the government, and especially Sriwijaya Air, could manage crisis communication effectively, consumer demand would not be affected.
He gave the example of the crash involving low-cost carrier Lion Air in October 2018, when a Boeing 737 MAX crashed into waters off the north coast of Java, killing 189 people on board. The crash did not directly impact the demand, which was more affected by increasing airfares in the following months, he said.
“If the government and industry say nothing, it can cause a psychological reaction in which people are afraid to book flights. But if they can communicate well, chances are people will still likely want to travel by air,” he told the Post on Tuesday.
Air travel and tourism are among the industries hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic as people cancel travel plans amid virus concerns and border closures.
