Minister of Transport to Airlines: Fuel Prices May Rise or Fall, but Service Standards Must Remain Excellent
Jakarta — Rising fuel prices ahead of the 2026 Lebaran travel rush are beginning to attract government attention. However, Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi has stressed that airlines cannot use this as an excuse to reduce service quality for passengers.
The statement was made by Dudy while opening the Integrated Central Lebaran Transport Post 2026 at the Ministry of Transport on Friday, 13 March 2026 evening.
According to him, service to the public represents the primary standard that must be maintained by all transport service providers, regardless of changing operational costs.
“I believe service and price are two different things. Service must remain optimal and excellent, whatever the difficulties, whether fuel prices fall or rise,” he said.
Dudy emphasised that service quality cannot depend on fuel price conditions in the market.
“Service must be a standard for anyone managing transport modes. Whether prices fall, service should remain maximal; whether prices rise, service should also remain maximal,” Dudy stated.
“So far, as Pertamina has indicated, aviation fuel prices remain within reach or still align with predictions,” he added.
He explained that airlines typically purchase aviation fuel for several months ahead, meaning the impact of price increases is not immediately felt.
“Airlines usually purchase aviation fuel or fuel up to one month in advance, if I’m not mistaken through to the end of March,” Dudy said.
For this reason, the potential impact of fuel price increases would likely only become apparent in the following month.
“We’ll see if it has an effect in April. So far, airlines have not yet raised complaints regarding fuel or aviation fuel price increases,” he said.
Under Transport Ministry Decision Number 106 of 2019 concerning economic class passenger tariffs for scheduled domestic commercial aviation, the exchange rate used remains at 14,165 US dollars per US dollar.
That figure is now deemed far below current exchange rates, which the aviation industry considers when calculating operational costs.