According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the airport served only 253 and 210 passengers for international flight departures in September and October, respectively, antaranews.com reported. 

BPS North Sumatra head Syech Suhaimi said on Thursday that between January and October, Kualanamu International Airport served a total of 187,696 passengers for international departures, a 76.84 percent drop from the same period last year when it served 897,211 passengers. 

Syech explained that in addition to travel restrictions and border closures, many travelers were still afraid to travel during the pandemic.

He predicted that the airport would see an increase in international departures toward the end of this year, though the number would still be far below that of precoronavirus days. 

Syech added that between January and October, the number of foreign arrivals also fell to 216,525 passengers, while in the same period last year, the airport welcomed 934,932 tourists. 

Indonesia saw a drop in foreign tourist arrivals in March as the COVID-19 pandemic decimated the country’s tourism.

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