Merak Port Begins to Fill with Returning Travellers at Dawn Ahead of 2026 Eid Holiday Migration
Merak Port has begun experiencing congestion from private vehicle operators ahead of the 2026 Eid holiday migration, with conditions remaining orderly at dawn on Saturday, 14 March. According to monitoring by CNNIndonesia.com until 02:03 WIB, the executive dock was filled with travellers using private vehicles, with all queuing areas already full for those intending to cross to Bakauheni Port.
“At Merak Port we are fully prepared, today there is an increase but not too many yet, still below 5,000 for one day,” said Zulvidon, Executive Director Regional 2 of PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry, at Merak Port on Saturday, 14 March.
ASDP is predicting approximately 46,000 vehicles will congst Merak Port during peak migration, estimated to occur four and three days before Eid 1447 Hijriah. At that time, a parking holding area at the Indah Kiat dock capable of accommodating 2,000 private vehicles will be opened.
“At peak, approximately 35,000 to 46,000 vehicles, we anticipate all of them. We are preparing engineering and a parking holding area at Indah Kiat accommodating 2,000 vehicles,” he explained.
Meanwhile, motorcyclists are predicted to fill Ciwandan Port, managed by Pelindo 2, on Monday and Tuesday, 16-17 March 2026.
“It is predicted that Monday-Tuesday there will already be an increase above 5,000 at Ciwandan,” he said.
ASDP Indonesia Ferry claims it has prepared mitigation in case of disruptions to the ticketing system, such as machine errors reading passenger tickets during the migration period.
“We have already anticipated MPOS and mobile tools, in addition to equipment at toll gates to accelerate vehicle loading onto ships,” he explained.
Several travellers have chosen to depart earlier to avoid congestion and traffic jams.
“I intentionally left now to avoid getting caught in traffic on the road and long queues at Merak Port,” said Sigit, a returning traveller from Tangerang, when met at Merak Port.
ASDP is predicting approximately 1.56 million returning travellers will cross from Java to Sumatra, an increase of 10.3 per cent for this Eid season. ASDP also predicts a 9.9 per cent increase in vehicles to 371,653 vehicles crossing from Merak.
On the return route, it is estimated to reach 1.51 million passengers, up 11.2 per cent, with 353,901 vehicles or up 10.5 per cent.
Merak Port is also implementing unified pricing with no executive dock differentiation from 13 March at 12:00 WIB until 20 March 2026 at 15:00 WIB.
A similar policy will also be applied at Bakauheni from 23 March at 00:00 WIB until 29 March at 24:00 WIB for vehicle classes I through VIA, to ensure ferry service distribution is better organised.
“We remind the public to purchase tickets through Ferizy as there is no ticket sales at the port. Avoid touts to prevent losses, and ensure personal data entry matches your identity to create a more orderly and smooth journey,” explained Windy Andale, Corporate Secretary of ASDP, in an official statement.