Traffic Congestion and Extreme Weather to be Key Concerns! Transport Minister Highlights Potential Risks for 2026 Eid al-Fitr Homecoming

Wed, 25 Feb 2026, 18:00 WIB | By Putri Yuliani | Source: MEDIA_INDONESIA | Infrastructure

The Minister of Transportation, Dudy Purwagandhi, emphasised four key factors that will determine the success of the 2026 Eid al-Fitr transportation plan. These factors are safety and security, attention to detail, synergy and collaboration, and preparedness for uncertainties and potential disruptions.

The Minister stressed that safety and security are the top priorities, which must be achieved through proactive and mitigating measures to minimise the risk of accidents and security disturbances.

Furthermore, the Minister emphasised the importance of paying attention to detail in every stage of preparation. “Although this is an annual tradition, I hope that even small things will be given attention, and we will not underestimate small things,” he said in an official statement on Wednesday (25/2).

Next is solid synergy and collaboration between stakeholders. According to Dudy, strong coordination is key to the smooth implementation of the Eid al-Fitr transportation plan.

Since early February 2026, the Ministry of Transportation has conducted a series of coordination and synergy efforts with various ministries, agencies, regional governments, and related stakeholders.

This coordination has resulted in several policies, including the provision of transportation fare discounts, the implementation of flexible working arrangements (FWA), the regulation of freight transportation operations, the use of mosques as rest areas, the strengthening of security, and the anticipation of potential congestion points in areas such as level crossings, informal markets, and tourist locations.

The last factor emphasised is preparedness for uncertainties and potential disruptions. “Lastly, always expect uncertainty and irregularities. Extreme weather and natural disasters that can occur at any time have the potential to disrupt transportation,” he said.

The Minister expressed hope that these four factors can be consistently implemented by all parties. “Our shared hope is that if these four important factors are carefully considered, it is not impossible for us to achieve our common goal, namely zero accidents and zero fatalities,” he said.

The Minister also instructed that anticipation be given to locations of congestion that occur on arterial roads, such as informal markets, during the implementation of the 2026 Eid al-Fitr transportation plan. At least, he said, locations that need to be anticipated include 4 locations in Banten, 25 locations in West Java, 12 locations in Central Java, 6 locations in Yogyakarta, and 9 locations in East Java. The same applies to other areas that have the potential to experience congestion due to informal markets.

“Congestion can be anticipated by strengthening coordination and anticipating informal market locations, as well as controlling and regulating obstacles on national roads, such as stalls and traditional transportation modes such as becaks and delmans,” said the Minister.

Furthermore, according to the Minister, an increase in traffic in tourist areas also needs to be anticipated. A significant increase is expected in Banten, West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, and East Java. This movement usually occurs after the first day of Eid al-Fitr.

“An integrated traffic management system needs to be prepared to anticipate the surge in visitors from and to tourist locations,” he concluded. (E-4)

Community movement during the 2026 Eid al-Fitr transportation period is predicted to be 50.60% of the population, or 143.91 million people.

In preparation for the implementation of Operation Ketupat 2026 to secure the Eid al-Fitr homecoming and return flow for 1447 H, the National Traffic Police (Korlantas Polri) inspected a number of rest areas.

PT KAI Daop 3 Cirebon is taking preventive measures to avoid disruptions during the 2026 Eid al-Fitr homecoming.

Preparation for the Eid al-Fitr homecoming is being carried out earlier. The hope is that the Eid al-Fitr homecoming will be smoother than in previous years.

Work From Anywhere (WFA) or flexible working will be implemented during the Eid al-Fitr transportation period from 13 March to 29 March 2026 to reduce traffic congestion during the homecoming.

The BMKG (Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics) has issued an early warning for extreme weather and heavy rain in Indonesia from 24 February to 2 March 2026. See the list of areas on alert for disasters.

The weather forecast for Central Java on 24 February 2026 indicates that 9 areas have the potential to experience extreme weather.

The US East Coast has been hit by an extreme snowstorm. Rhode Island recorded the deepest snowfall, 600,000 buildings lost power, and thousands of flights in New York were cancelled.

In addition, extreme weather such as strong winds and heavy rain continues to plague the province in the westernmost part of Indonesia.

The most severe Nor’easter storm in a decade has hit the US East Coast and Canada. New York has imposed a total travel ban in the face of a threat of 70 cm of snow.

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