Commission V Highlights Domestic Flight Tickets More Expensive Than Overseas: Strange Situation
Jakarta, Kompas.com — Lasarus, Chairman of Commission V of the Indonesian Parliament, has raised concerns about the high cost of domestic flight tickets, particularly in the lead-up to the 2026 Ramadan exodus (mudik).
The issue arises because domestic flight prices can exceed those of international routes. Lasarus raised this matter during a coordination meeting on preparations for the 2026 Ramadan travel period with the government, attended by Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi on Wednesday, 11 March 2026.
“We have received numerous complaints about high ticket prices, Minister. This is primarily concerning air transport tickets,” said Lasarus at the Parliament building.
The PDI-P politician cited several flight prices checked through travel booking applications. Flights from Jakarta to eastern Indonesia cost tens of millions of rupiah for a single journey.
“I checked examples just now. Let me take Garuda, for instance. Jakarta-Manado on 17 March, checking on Traveloka, it’s IDR 11 million one way, Minister. Then Jakarta-Jayapura is IDR 15 million to IDR 15.7 million, Minister Robert. Then Jakarta-Kuala Lumpur is just IDR 8 million, Minister. Jakarta-Bangkok IDR 13 million, Jakarta-Singapore IDR 9 million,” Lasarus stated.
According to Lasarus, this situation demonstrates a concerning trend where domestic flight prices are actually higher than international routes.
“How to unravel this matter, of course we must unravel it without touching the minimum operating cost of airlines, Minister. If we touch the minimum operating cost of airlines, the planes cannot fly. This would further complicate our economy. So I believe we must find a solution so that these complaints about expensive tickets can be stopped,” he concluded.
Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi explained that the government has prepared several stimulus measures in the form of transportation fare discounts to support public mobility during the exodus period.
He stated that discounts are provided for various modes of transport.
“The government is also providing stimulus in the form of transportation fare discounts for the public, including ferry service discounts of 21.9 per cent,” said Dudy.
These discounts are valid for the period 12-31 March 2026 for 20 days.
Additionally, the government has also provided a 30 per cent discount on sea transport for all PSO Pelni ship routes in economy class, valid from 11 March to 5 April 2026.
For air transport, the government is providing discounts of approximately 17 to 18 per cent for economy tickets on domestic flight routes. These discounts apply to travel periods from 14-29 March 2026, with ticket purchases having commenced since 10 February 2026.