REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi will extend the operational hours of the airports in the cities of Jogjakarta, Solo, and Semarang by an additional three hours.
"I saw that the airport in Jogjakarta has had an additional 54 slots because of the changes in its operational hours from 6 am to 5 am in the mornings and from 9 pm to 12 am in the evenings. Other than that, the slots that are normally used for air force activities will also be empty during the Eid holiday period," he stated in a press statement received by Antara in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Furthermore, Sumadi noted that the extra hours and slots are aimed to reduce the overflow of Eid transportations in Jakarta.
"We know that some areas in central Java, especially Jogjakarta, Solo, and Semarang, are the main homecoming (mudik) destinations. I have studied Jogjakarta as one of the main point of the homecoming season for our friends from Jakarta, Sumatra, Sulawesi, and Kalimantan. Hence, instead of having to stop over in Jakarta first, they can be directed straight to Jogjakarta instead, lessening the crowdedness in Jakarta," he explained.
He believed that the extra slots can accommodate more air passengers for this year's Eid holiday season.
"We estimated to be able to accommodate 6 thousand to 9 thousand people, and this will help our homecoming management. Therefore, when Jakarta is overflowing, there would still be airports in Pontianak, Banjarmasin, Balikpapan, and Palembang that can receive passengers without them having to stop in Jakarta first," he reiterated.
In relation to that, the minister had asked the Ministry's Director General of Air Transportation as well as the management of state airport operator PT Angkasa Pura I to organize a meeting regarding the utilization of slots by airline companies in sustaining the volume of transportation flow during the Eid holiday season this year.
Meanwhile, operator of Yogyakarta's Adisutjipto Airport had also carried out a number of improvements and added extra infrastructures and facilities, as an effort to increase their services, especially as the holiday season approaches.
The new terminal facilities include tourist information centers, restaurants, ATMs, clinics, shuttle cars, and nursing rooms.
The minister, accompanied by General Manager of PT Angkasa Pura I Agus Pandu and General Manager of AirNav Nono Sunariyadi, had also inspected a number of facilities in the Adisutjipto airport.
"Although this airport will be moved to Kulonprogo, it is still important to increase the services in the Adisutjipto airport and create a space to improve the Apron directory, maneuver to the runway that is hoped to increase activities from the Apron. This includes the development of a travelator to connect terminal 1 and terminal 2," he reiterated.
In order to further support connectivity, there are also few other choices of sustainable transportation to reach the Adisutjipto airport, including the Prameks train, he added.
Ikuti Whatsapp Channel Republika
