Parliament Urges Government to Prepare Aviation Fuel Governance Roadmap for Affordable Air Tickets
A member of the House of Representatives Commission V, Sofwan Dedy Ardyanto, is urging the government, regulators, and airlines to sit down together immediately to find a long-term solution to address global avtur price fluctuations.
This step responds to the government’s policy that has begun intervening to curb the impact of rising avtur prices on the national aviation industry. The effort is aimed at keeping ticket price increases within an affordable range of around 9-13%, as stated by Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto on Monday (6/4).
“This policy is a good initial step, but the government needs to ensure a long-term solution so that aviation cost increases do not continue to burden the public and other sectors,” Sofwan said in his statement to reporters on Wednesday (8/4).
Furthermore, Sofwan explained that before being affected by global geopolitical dynamics, domestic ticket prices in Indonesia were already relatively high. This is triggered by the Upper Limit Tariff (TBA) that has not been adjusted since 2019, high operational costs, and the limited number of fleets.
In addition, tax factors such as 11% VAT on avtur and the Passenger Air Transport Service (PJP2U) also contribute to increasing the final price that consumers must pay.
“These four factors need to be the basis for a comprehensive evaluation, so that in the future domestic air ticket prices become more affordable,” he said. “So, the issue of air ticket prices is not just about avtur price fluctuations, but more complex,” said the legislator from the PDI Perjuangan Faction.
Sofwan highlighted the disparity in avtur prices in Indonesia compared to neighbouring countries. If in Singapore avtur prices range from Rp13,000 per litre, in Indonesia the price can reach Rp15,000 per litre, even higher in eastern Indonesia. This is crucial because avtur contributes around 40% to the total ticket price component.
“Regarding avtur, the key lies in the governance of avtur prices by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources,” he emphasised.
As a concrete solution, Sofwan is pushing for openness in the aircraft fuel supply market to create healthy competition in line with recommendations from the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU).
“Ideally, avtur should be managed by more than one provider and not monopolised. This is a step to maintain air ticket prices and is one of the recommendations from the KPPU,” he concluded.