Airline passenger traffic expected to spike

JAKARTA. Transportation Minister E.E. Mangindaan said on Thursday that the volume of air passengers was expected to increase by 11.7 percent to nearly 3.76 million passengers during the upcoming Idul Fitri holiday.

“As in previous years, air passenger traffic is expected to increase during Idul Fitri, with air transportation accounting for the highest percentage of travelers compared to other transportation modes,” he said as quoted by Antara news agency.

Mangindaan said the rapid rise in airline passengers would be anticipated by several airlines by increasing the number of flights.

He added that the busiest airports in the country, such as Hasanuddin airport in Makassar, Juanda in Surabaya and Soekarno-Hatta in Jakarta, could see rises of passenger traffic reaching 25 percent.

The number of Idul Fitri travelers journeying by sea is expected to increase by 5 percent to around 1.66 million, compared to 1.59 million passengers last year.

Meanwhile, the number of passengers traveling by land is predicted to increase by 3.72 percent from nearly 6 million passengers in 2012 to 6.22 million during the upcoming holiday season.

The number of holiday travelers using trains is expected to increase by 0.62 percent.

“Around 3.1 million travelers took the train last year and there will be 3.12 million passengers this year,” Mangindaan said, adding that both the Transportation Ministry and the Public Works Ministry would be monitoring road infrastructure along the North Coast Highway (Pantura). (ebf)