Surge in Passengers at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Driven by Eid Exodus and Nyepi
A surge in passengers occurred at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (Soetta) in Tangerang, Banten, coinciding with the peak of the Eid al-Fitr 1447 H homecoming flow, which falls on the day before Nyepi Day, on Wednesday (18/3).
Based on observations by CNNIndonesia.com at the site yesterday, the total passenger movements at the airport reached 184,754 people.
Crowding was evident at several points, particularly in the check-in counter areas and domestic departure waiting rooms.
Long queues were not only triggered by the Eid homecoming flow but also by prospective passengers seeking to avoid the suspension of flights to Denpasar, Bali, during Nyepi on Thursday (19/3). Some people are taking advantage of this moment to holiday on the island of Bali before flight activities are temporarily halted.
One passenger, Adelia, said she deliberately departed early to avoid the lack of flights the next day.
“To Denpasar, Bali. Because tomorrow [this Thursday] is Nyepi, so there are no flights,” said Adelia at Soekarno-Hatta Airport.
She said the trip was being used to visit family as well as to holiday. Adelia mentioned that the ticket price she obtained was still relatively affordable because it was booked well in advance, around Rp2 million for a one-way trip.
“It was planned from last month, so the price is still okay. Planning to stay in Bali for about a week,” she added.
Based on data from the airport operator, the total flights on Wednesday afternoon reached 1,232 flights, consisting of 611 departures and 621 arrivals.
In detail, Terminal 1 handled 307 flights with 51,467 passengers. Terminal 2 for domestic flights recorded 364 flights with 51,498 passengers, and 98 international flights with 14,727 passengers.
Meanwhile, Terminal 3 handled 260 domestic flights with 38,460 passengers and 155 international flights with 28,602 passengers. In addition, there were 48 cargo flights in operation.
This high movement makes Soekarno-Hatta Airport one of the busiest points during this year’s homecoming period, especially because it overlaps with the Nyepi celebration which causes a temporary halt to flight activities in Bali.