Police Estimate 143 Million People Will Travel for Eid al-Fitr Holiday 2026

Jakarta — The Indonesian National Police (Polri) estimates that the Eid al-Fitr exodus in 2026 will reach 143 million people, representing approximately 50 per cent of Indonesia’s total population. Polri, working alongside the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI), is deploying a total of 389,681 personnel in Operation Ketupat to ensure smooth travel flow across Indonesia. Deputy Police Chief General Dedi Prasetyo announced that the peak exodus period is expected on 14 March 2026.

Dedi stated that Polri alone will deploy more than 161,000 personnel to guarantee the smooth operation of the mass exodus. “These hundreds of thousands of personnel will be positioned at various strategic points to anticipate traffic congestion, road accidents, and potential security threats during the exodus period and Eid al-Fitr celebrations,” Dedi said at the National Police Headquarters in Jakarta on Wednesday (11 March 2026).

According to Dedi, Polri is establishing 2,746 security posts. These posts comprise 1,624 security posts, 779 service posts, and 343 integrated posts. The posts will be distributed along major exodus routes, including rest areas, terminals, stations, ports, airports, and tourist areas, as well as places of worship.

To ensure smooth mobility during this year’s exodus, Dedi said Polri will continue to implement conventional traffic engineering measures, such as one-way systems and contra-flow arrangements using portions of lanes in the opposite direction.

Polri’s Public Relations Division Head Inspector General Jhonny Eddizon Isir added that Operation Ketupat this year is scheduled to conclude by 25 March 2026. However, this date may be extended further, taking into account public needs, with estimates extending to 28 March 2026.

“The number of personnel involved will total 389,681 combined personnel from Polri and TNI,” Jhonny said. These hundreds of thousands of personnel will focus on ensuring security for 185,544 protected objects, Jhonny explained. These include 121 mosques, 54,516 Eid prayer locations, 4,640 tourist sites, 2,962 shopping centres, 618 terminals, 562 ports, 268 railway stations, 182 airports, and other crowded public areas.