Nation's airports to up passenger service charge

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.