The aviation industry is one of industries that have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic in the last 8 months. Passengers were forced to cancel their trips due to the travel restrictions and bans to contain the spread of the infection. In order to attract more passengers, Indonesian low cost carriers (LCC) are offering discounts on air ticket fares.

Sriwijaya Airlines and its subsidiary Nam Air, low cost carriers of Indonesia, will offer a special airfare of IDR 170,000 (approx USD 12) for all domestic routes for air tickets purchased between 08:00 am and 04:00 pm on November 10 (Tuesday). Offering special airfare to passengers is one of the airline’s efforts to get back to normal from the pandemic and to celebrate its 17th anniversary.

In addition, the budget carrier Citilink announced on Friday (Oct 23) that it has reduced the fares of all flights by 10 per cent to 15 per cent at 13 airports including Soekarno Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Kualanamu International Airport in North Sumatra and I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport (aka Ngurah Rai International Airport) in Kuta, after the Ministry of Transportation waived passenger service charge. The exemption is valid from October 23, 2020 to December 31, 2020.

The waiver on passenger service charge (PSC), which is a component of the flight ticket fare, means that a lower ticket cost can be provided to passengers.

Mr. Juliandra Nurtjahjo, President and Director at Citilink, has said in a statement, “In line with the government’s program, the airline is committed to fully supporting the implementation of the stimulus program, with an aim to encourage people to travel safely and comfortably amid the coronavirus pandemic.”

He further added that the program is one of the efforts to help the local aviation industry recover from the impact of the pandemic.

According to reports, national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia and low cost airline Lion Air have also reduced their ticket prices.

Mr. Irfan Setiaputra, President Director of Garuda Indonesia, has said that the exemption of service tax was a significant measure to support the recovery of Indonesia’s aviation industry and will increase public interest in travel by air.

Statistics Indonesia data show that the number of domestic air passengers fell 57 per cent year-on-year to 21 million, between January and August. At the same time, the number of foreign air passengers dropped by 71.51 per cent year-on-year to 3.5 million during the same period.