ASITA: Removal of transit routes from OTAs will harm passengers and connectivity

Jakarta – The Association of The Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies (ASITA) has warned that proposals to remove transit route options from online travel agents (OTAs) risk harming passengers and weakening connectivity across Indonesia.

“Especially during peak seasons like the Lebaran exodus period, which requires greater connectivity to reach every region via air routes,” said ASITA Chairman Nunung Rusmiati in a statement in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Nunung emphasised the issue to highlight concerns about the removal of transit flight route options from OTA platforms. She argued that the policy risks reducing transparency in travel choices available to consumers.

She also maintained that transit flight options have long served as an important connectivity solution for Indonesia, an archipelago nation. With thousands of islands and many cities lacking direct flight services, transit flights have often been the only means of connecting inter-regional travel.

“From ASITA’s perspective, transit flight options have been one of the key connectivity solutions for an archipelago nation like Indonesia,” said Nunung.

She further stated that if such options are removed from OTAs, the public would lose a complete picture of available travel options. OTA platforms have helped consumers plan journeys according to their needs, both in terms of timing and budget.

“OTAs exist to help consumers plan travel that best suits their time and budget requirements,” she said.

Nunung reminded that Indonesia’s geographical conditions make air connectivity highly complex. Not all cities are connected by direct flights, so transit flights are part of an already-functioning transportation system.

“We must remember that Indonesia has more than 17,000 islands and hundreds of airports. Not all cities are connected by direct flights. In this context, transit is not a problem; rather, it is part of the solution to national connectivity,” she said.

On another front, she said ASITA sees the policy affecting how the public searches for airline tickets. Many consumers are accustomed to using OTAs to find flight combinations at certain prices.

Furthermore, Nunung argued that the plan to remove transit options from OTAs will not resolve the main issue facing Indonesia’s domestic aviation industry, particularly regarding ticket prices.

According to her, expensive airfares in Indonesia are influenced by various more complex structural factors. These include fuel costs, airline operating expenses, limited fleet capacity, taxes, and various airport charges. Additionally, the imbalance between available flight seats and demand also affects prices.

Therefore, Nunung continued, removing transit options from OTAs is unlikely to have a direct impact on these costs.

“Removing transit options from OTAs will not lower these costs. What will happen is merely removing route options from digital platforms, while transit routes themselves continue to exist,” she said.

She emphasised that the policy risks merely limiting consumer information without genuinely changing the cost structure within the aviation industry.

“In other words, the price problem does not disappear; only the information about it becomes restricted,” she said.