Nation's airports to up passenger service charge

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

State-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II will increase the passenger service charge (PSC) at the 10 airports under its authority, including Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, starting on Monday in order to cope with rising operational costs.

The passenger service charge, which is a component of the airport tax, at Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Tangerang, Banten, will be raised by 50 percent, said Angkasa Pura II spokesman Waspan.

"This means that starting August 15, the PSC rate will rise from Rp 20,000 to Rp 30,000 per passenger at the Soekarno-Hatta Airport," he told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

He said that the same rate increase will also be applied at three other airports from the current rate of Rp 10,000 per passenger to Rp 15,000 per passenger.

The airports are Husin Sastranegara Airport in Bandung, West Java; Tanjung Pinang Airport in Riau Islands; and Sultan Iskandar Muda Airport in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam.

Waspan, however, said that the PSC rate at six other airports under Angkasa Pura II's authority will only be raised by 25 percent from Rp 20,000 to Rp 25,000 per passenger.

The airports include Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport in East Jakarta; Minangkabau International Airport in Padang, West Sumatra; Simpang Tiga Airport in Pakanbaru, Riau; Palembang Airport in South Sumatra; and Polonia Airport in Medan, North Sumatra.

Waspan said that the increase in the PSC rate would be followed with improvements in services to passengers.

He explained that based on a survey conducted by consultancy firm Aeronautika Business Development, the PSC rate should be increased to Rp 47,000 per passenger amid rising operation costs of the airports.

But the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) insisted that the rate increase must not be higher than 50 percent, he said, adding that the rate increase had already been approved by the Ministry of Transportation.

Waspan said that Angkasa Pura II initially planned to increase the PSC last year, but was prevented by the government due to general election activities.

Elsewhere, Waspan said that Angkasa Pura II would start the operation of a new international airport in West Sumatra later this month.

The new Minangkabau International Airport in Kataping, Pariaman regency, will replace Tabing airport in the capital city of Padang, which no longer has the capacity to accommodate rising number of passengers and cargo.

"The new airport can accommodate between 700,000 - 800,000 passengers per year and will be inaugurated by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on August 25," he said.