Planes at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport of Indonesia (Photo: Antara)Hanoi (VNA) – TheIndonesian Transportation Ministry has agreed to provide the aviation industrywith a stimulus package worth 216.5 billion Rp (14.75 million USD) aimed atcutting costs and boosting demand throughout the COVID pandemic.
The ministry’s air transportation director general, Novie Riyanto, said thatthe stimulus package consisted of 175.7 billion Rp worth of service feeexemptions at 13 airports across Indonesia, as well as 40.8 billion Rp worth ofsubsidies for a flight capacity calibration fee.
The exemption would be available for flights booked between October 23 and October31 with scheduled departure before midnight of January 1, 2021, the ministrystated.
The flight facility subsidy serves to ease the cost burden for airportoperators, including state-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura (AP) I and AP II.
Novie expressed the hope that the stimulus will help lower the burden for thosewho travel using air transportation and reignite the aviation industry, whichcould spill over into tourism and other industries.
Statistics Indonesia data show that the number of domestic air passengersbetween January and August fell 56.99 percent year-on-year (yoy) to 21.6million people. Meanwhile, the number of foreign air passengers in the sameperiod plummeted 71.51 percent yoy to 3.5 million people.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) earlier this year estimatedthat Indonesia’s aviation industry would suffer a 49 percent passenger drop andan 8.2-billion-USD-fall in revenue this year from last year as an impact of theglobal health crisis./.
VNA
