National Police Launch Operation Ketupat 13-25 March 2026

Jakarta — The Indonesian National Police (Polri) will conduct Operation Ketupat 2026 over 13 days, from 13 March to 25 March 2026, to secure holiday travel and return traffic during the Lebaran festival.

Deputy Chief of Police Komjen Pol Dedi Prasetyo stated that the force has prepared various measures, including combined personnel, to secure the operation.

“Polri is conducting Operation Ketupat as a centralised operation that will be implemented for 13 days, from 13 March to 25 March 2026,” Dedi said when met at the National Police Science Higher Education Institute (PTIK) in Jakarta on Monday (2 March 2026).

“The total personnel deployed from combined forces is 161,243 personnel,” he added.

Dedi further disclosed predictions of holiday travel divided into two waves.

“The first wave runs from 14 to 15 March 2026. The second wave runs from 18 to 19 March 2026,” he explained.

Dedi explained that public movement this year coincides with the Nyepi religious holiday, requiring additional traffic management and security measures.

Meanwhile, the peak return traffic is predicted to occur on 25-26 March 2026 for the first wave and 28-29 March 2026 for the second wave.

According to him, this figure represents a decline compared to 2025, which reached 146.4 million people. The decrease amounts to approximately 2.57 million people, or 1.75 per cent.

Nevertheless, Polri remains prepared to anticipate potential increases in movement patterns on the ground.

“However, we still need to prepare for the possibility of increased movement occurring in reality,” Dedi said.