Outbound airline passengers rise<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Several foreign airlines are fully booked for
\noutbound trips this month as concern grows over security in the
\ncountry ahead of the general election.<\/p>\n
Emirates airlines said on Monday seats on all outbound flights
\nwere fully booked for the period from May 9 to May 27.<\/p>\n
\"The number of people who have booked seats to Singapore
\nduring the period has increased to between 80 and 90 per flight,
\nas against between 20 and 30 on normal days,\" the United Arab
\nEmirates state-owned airline manager for Indonesia John Rotikan
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"There are even several days which have been overbooked, that
\nwe might have to place on seats allocated for long-haul
\ntravelers,\" Rotikan added.<\/p>\n
Rotikan said some local travel agencies had asked Emirates to
\nadd flights to accommodate the flood of outbound travelers,
\nhowever the airline said all its aircraft had busy schedules.<\/p>\n
Emirates serves the return flights from Dubai, Colombo,
\nSingapore and Jakarta three times a week on Mondays, Tuesdays and
\nThursdays.<\/p>\n
Company sales manager Ilonka Leiwakabessy said some people
\nwere probably leaving the country to avoid unrest expected during
\nthe election campaigning.<\/p>\n
\"But, don't forget that school children also start their long
\nholiday during that period,\" Ilonka said.<\/p>\n
Political campaigns will start on May 19 to prepare for the
\ngeneral election scheduled for June 7.<\/p>\n
Some people expect the political rallies to become violent,
\ncausing fear among expatriates and Chinese-Indonesians, who were
\nthe main target of violence in the big riots in May last year.<\/p>\n
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airlines is also experiencing
\nan increase in demand, with a spokeswoman saying on Monday that
\n\"traffic out of Jakarta is starting to fill\".<\/p>\n
Company marketing communications manager Ida Bayuni said
\nalmost all flights to overseas destinations, including Singapore,
\nHong Kong and the United States, were fully booked for the period
\nbetween May 6 and May 26, except for a couple of days.<\/p>\n
Ida noted, however, that tickets had not been issued or
\nconfirmed, \"as people tend to book reservations first\".<\/p>\n
\"From May 27, the booking load drops,\" Ida said.<\/p>\n
Cathay Pacific flies 10 times a week from Jakarta to Hong
\nKong, including seven times via Singapore, twice a week from
\nSurabaya to Hong Kong, and every day from Denpasar to Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
However, Singapore-based Singapore Airlines, which is thus far
\nthe largest foreign airline to serve the Singapore-Jakarta route,
\nreported no sharp rise in the number of passengers to Singapore.<\/p>\n
\"Seats are still available at Singapore Airlines every day
\nthroughout this month. There isn't any exodus of Chinese-
\nIndonesians out of Jakarta as claimed by some people,\" company
\npublic relations manager Susi Charma said.<\/p>\n
Susi admitted there was an increase in the number of
\npassengers traveling overseas this month but said it was normal
\nin May and June because of people leaving for the school
\nholidays.<\/p>\n
Susi also noted that inbound passengers almost equal the
\nnumber of outbound passengers at present.<\/p>\n
Singapore Airlines flies seven times a day from Jakarta to
\nSingapore, nine times a week from Surabaya to Singapore and three
\ntimes a day from Denpasar to Singapore. (jsk)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/outbound-airline-passengers-rise-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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