Flights to S'pore, U.S. fully booked

JAKARTA (JP): Airline flights from May 15 to May 31 from Jakarta to certain destinations, particularly Singapore, Australia and the United States, are fully booked out, travel agents and airlines said on Saturday.

Travel agents and airlines told The Jakarta Post that the extraordinary number of passengers heading overseas during that time was mainly due to school holidays in mid-May to mid-July and individuals' fear of possible mayhem in the capital ahead of the June 7 general election.

"On average, seats are booked out for departures from mid-May to the end of May," Julia, ticketing manager at PT Bayu Buana Travel Service, said.

She refused to give details but said: "Next month is peak season for people traveling abroad since the school holidays are about to start."

This year, school holidays across the country have been brought forward and will start in mid-May and last until mid- June. Schools have brought forward the dates of examinations and class activities to avoid the May 19 to June 5 campaign period and the polls.

Normally, school holidays fall in June and end in July.

But a number of travelers, according to Julia, have their own purposes for mid-year trips.

"Some say they are taking their family members on trips in case of worsening conditions ahead of the polls," Julia said.

Vayatour Travel Agent sold out all its reservations to Singapore several weeks ago, said reservation and ticketing manager Puji.

"Travelers, mostly wealthy Chinese-Indonesians, say they're heading out for family holidays," she explained.

Some ticket buyers have had to be satisfied with having their names put on flight waiting lists.

"They did not refuse our offer of the waiting list," Puji said. She strongly believes that the people willing to take their chances on a waiting list are those who still feel uncertain about the country's future prior to and after the polls.

Another operator in the booming airline ticketing business, a staffer of Golden Rama Tour on Jl. Tanah Abang II in Central Jakarta, said some people booking flights through her office had expressed fear of possible unrest around poll day and beyond.

"They reserved open tickets that are valid for one year," she said.

An airline employee said on Saturday that flights to Singapore and Australia were fully booked during May.

"On average, the return tickets are open tickets," the Garuda employee, who asked for anonymity, said.

For domestic destinations, only Bali has shown a drastic increase in ticket sales, said the employee, who works on Jl. Gunung Sahari in Central Jakarta.

Separately on Saturday, a noted sociologist said people's apprehension of possible unrest around poll time was natural.

"Those of Chinese descent were traumatized by the May riots, in which they were targeted by angry mobs," said Sardjono Djatiman, a sociologist at the University of Indonesia.

More than 150,000 Indonesians and foreigners fled the country from May 14 to May 20 last year owing to the May 13 through May 15 riots.

According to the National Commission on Human Rights, at least 1,188 people died in the riots and thousands of shops, vehicles and homes were attacked, burned or looted.

Separately, chairperson of the Communication Forum for National Unity (FKKB) Rosita S. Noer, estimated on Saturday that a large number of present and former state officials would also temporarily flee the country ahead of poll day.

"They all want to save their own skins because they're afraid and are feeling threatened in this country, which has become home to riots and uncertainty," Rosita said.

From Singapore, The Straits Times reported on Saturday that about 30,000 Indonesians were expected to wait out the general election in the neighboring city-state, fearing violence during the polls.

"To be on the safe side, (Indonesians) are booking their plane seats and hotel rooms," Prasetya Purnawan, a director at Singapore's Le Meridien hotel, told the paper.

"But it's still a wait-and-see situation," he said. "If there are riots, they will fly out."

Indonesian Embassy officials estimate that about 30,000 people will seek safety in Singapore during the campaign period and the elections, the newspaper said. (01/bsr)