Hanin Marwah, Jakarta – State-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina (Persero) is lowering the price of aviation fuel at 19 priority airports across Indonesia. Pertamina President Director Simon Aloysius Mantiri said the policy was a step to reduce the price of air tickets ahead of the Christmas and New Year holiday season.
"For the first time, with the support of encouragement from the SOE Ministry, the Ministry of Transportation, and of course through the direction of the President, we are also encouraging a decrease in ticket prices before Christmas and New Year," Simon said in a press conference at the SOE Ministry office in Jakarta on Monday, December 9.
The fare reduction is estimated to be around 7 percent of the normal price. The nominal amount varies, different at each airport. "We use the benchmark at Soekarno-Hatta Cengkareng Airport, which is already among the lowest prices compared to several other airports," he said.
On Pertamina's official website, the current price of aviation fuel at Soekarno-Hatta Airport is shown at Rp12,688.2 per liter.
Simon explained the policy has been officially implemented by the subholding of PT Pertamina Patra Niaga since December 1, 2024, and will end on January 9, 2025. The effect of the reduction in the price of aviation fuel, he said, is a reduction in the price of airline tickets in general.
"From December 1 to 16, we will give flexibility to airlines, after which we will offer special prices for aviation fuel. The airlines will then regulate it as a whole, perhaps with cross-subsidies. That way, the overall prices of tickets can go down," he said.
The 19 airports include three main airports: Kuala Namu in Medan, I Gusti Ngurah Rai in Bali, and Juanda in Surabaya. There are also five super-priority tourist destination airports: Silangit in North Tapanuli, Lombok Airport, Komodo Airport in Labuan Bajo, Sam Ratulangi Airport in Manado, and Kulonprogo Airport in Yogyakarta.
"The remaining 11 airports are priority airports during the year-end holiday season, namely Supadio, Pattimura, Hasanuddin, Sepinggan, El Tari, Sorong Daratan, Mozes Kilangin, Sentani, Wai Oti, Paniai and Frans Kaisiepo," he said.
Earlier, President Director of PT Aviasi Pariwisata Indonesia (Persero) or InJourney, Maya Watono, said the policy of reducing airfares was one of three factors that play an important role in reaching a 10-percent reduction in airfares during the Christmas and New Year period.
The second and third factors are the reduction in tariffs for services provided by airlines, which include aircraft landing, parking, and storage services or PJP4U, and the third factor is the reduction in the price of aviation fuel used by PT Pertamina (Persero).
"If you add up the three (factors), their contribution is 10 percent," she said.
– Hammam Izzuddin contributed to the writing of this article.