The Ministry of Transportation in Indonesia has turned down requests by Garuda Indonesia and Air Asia to operate additional flights into Jakarta.
"Garuda and Air Asia have proposed new routes, but we have to postpone them for the time being," said the ministry's air transportation director general, Herry Bakti Gumay.
The decision may appear to contradict prior comments made by the Indonesian government regarding the importance of the better connectivity and accessibility. However, this has been attributed to the already high air traffic at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, along with the infrastructural deficiencies.
"The double-digit annual traffic growth at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport has pushed capacity to its limits, with passenger volumes reaching almost triple the original capacity," said Dharmadi, chief executive officer of Air Asia Indonesia to Business Traveller Asia-Pacific. "The significant rate of growth in air transportation is currently not supported with adequate infrastructures, posing challenges for airline operators."
Dharmadi also noted however that the Indonesian government recognises the issues, and has taken steps to transfer several flight services from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport to Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East Jakarta. However, in order to better control the levels of air traffic in the city, no additional flights are allowed to be operated. The aim is to reduce air traffic at Soekarno-Hatta by 10 per cent in 2014.
"As an immediate solution to reduce air traffic congestion at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, the airline operator (Angkasa Pura II) as well as The Ministry of Transportation have opened Halim Airport for commercial flights," said Dharmadi. "Any flights operated from Halim would have to be existing flights shifted from Soekarno-Hatta Airport, and not new ones."
For more information, visit www.airasia.com
Clement Huang
