REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Transportation Minister, Budi Karya Sumadi, will issue a circular on fair air flight tariff for airlines in the face of religious holidays. The circular will be issued soon after he returned to Jakarta from a working visit in West Sumatra.

"When I come back from Padang, I will issue the circular containing fair flight fares," the transportation minister stated, while giving a public lecture at the University of Andalas, Padang, on Monday.

The minister acknowledged that he had received many complaints from the public regarding the high fares on the eve of Lebaran, especially the flight fares to Padang, West Sumatra. The same high fares are also experienced by passengers leaving for Pontianak, West Kalimantan, especially ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year. The air fare is also unreasonable.

The minister noted that the passengers often complain of unreasonable rise in tariff. The government will issue a circular containing an appeal to airlines to avoid unreasonable rise in the price of tickets.

The minister remarked that related to flights to Padang to Minangkabau International Airport (BIM), in particular, the government plans to expand the terminal.

One of the efforts made by the Ministry of Transportation is to increase the capacity of passengers at Minangkabau International Airport from 2.6 million passengers per year to 5.7 million passengers by the end of 2019.

"The expansion will be made to anticipate the increase in the number of visits to West Sumatra, also as part of the efforts to encourage the tourism sector," he remarked.

The request for terminal expansion was also conveyed by President Joko Widodo when inaugurating the operation of the BIM train to Padang City on Monday (May 21).

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