Still 1.6 Million Returnees in Central Java Amid Second Peak of Return Traffic
The peak of the return traffic in Central Java on Tuesday (24/3) is estimated to see 283,000 vehicles heading back to Jakarta, with a second return peak expected on 28-29 March due to the remaining 1.6 million holidaymakers still in the province.
Media Indonesia’s monitoring on Tuesday (24/3) showed waves of return vehicles flooding several national, provincial, and district/city roads as well as the Trans-Java Toll Road in Central Java since the morning. Although traffic flow was relatively smooth, density due to the increased number of passing vehicles caused congestion at several points.
The density of return vehicles on the Semarang-Brebes North Coast route was dominated by two-wheeled (motorcycle) and four-wheeled (private) vehicles. Many returnees took the opportunity to visit tourist destinations along the route as well as souvenir centres.
National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo officially opened the national one-way traffic engineering for the 2026 Eid return flow from KM 414 Kalikangkung Toll Gate Semarang to KM 70 Cikampek towards Jakarta, effective from Tuesday (24/3) to Sunday (29/3).
“As many as 283,000 vehicles are estimated to return to Jakarta during the 2026 Eid return peak occurring on Tuesday (24/3),” said Minister of Transportation Dudy Purwagandhi while accompanying the National Police Chief in inaugurating the one-way opening.
The high volume of vehicles on the Trans-Java toll road, according to Dudy Purwagandhi, prompted toll operators to temporarily close two rest areas at KM 62B and KM 52B to ease congestion. “The open-close system for several rest areas is expected to prevent vehicle build-up that causes traffic jams,” he added.
Central Java Governor Ahmad Luthfi separately stated that as of now, 1.6 million holidaymakers are still in Central Java and are expected to return to various regions gradually until early April using various modes of land, air, and sea transportation.
The peak of the homecoming via land routes, continued Ahmad Luthfi, is predicted to occur twice, as in the previous year’s homecoming, namely on 24-25 March and 28-29 March, so returnees are asked not to move back simultaneously. “Do not return to Jakarta bringing relatives, tenants, and family if they do not yet have stable employment,” he added.
Meanwhile, National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, accompanied by several state officials such as the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Pratikno, Minister of Transportation Dudy Purwagandhi, and Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin, stated that safety is the top priority during the return traffic journey.
The implementation of the one-way scheme on this toll road section, according to Listyo Sigit Prabowo, is to prevent vehicle accumulation towards Jakarta. “We are also dividing it to avoid bottlenecks on several homecoming routes when return vehicles reach Jakarta,” he said.
The Head of the National Traffic Corps (Kakorlantas) of the National Police Inspector General of Police Agus Suryo Nugroho stated that the National Police along with other stakeholders will conduct a national one-way flag off on Sunday.
The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has issued a weather forecast for the 2026 Eid return period running from 24 to 30 March 2026.
National Police Chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo has officially implemented national one-way traffic engineering to ease density during the 2026 Eid return peak.
Minister of Transportation Dudy Purwagandhi warned logistics transport business owners to comply with vehicle operation restriction rules ahead of the 2026 Eid return peak.
Entering H+2 of Eid 2026, the volume of vehicles from East Java and Central Java heading to Jakarta and other areas in West Java began to experience a significant surge.
The movement of the 2026 Eid return flow from Sumatra to Java via Bakauheni Port began to show a significant increasing trend.