REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- By. Andi Abdussalam

JAKARTA -- The government is taking necessary steps to handle the anticipated surge in the number of air and sea passengers during the 2013 Christmas and New Year 2014 celebrations.

This year, the flow of air passengers is forecast to increase by 10 percent, while the number of passengers taking the sea route is forecast to increase by 20 percent from 2012.

A total of 93,364 additional seats will be available on flights operational from 27 airports spread across the country. A total of 23 airports operate domestic flights, while four operate international flights.

Since early this year, 403 flights by 18 airlines are in operation.

The Ministry of Transportation will also monitor the flow of passengers at 52 seaports in various parts of Indonesia during the Christmas and New Year celebrations, which are expected to last from December 23, 2013 to January 6, 2014.

"We will monitor the flow of passengers at 52 seaports. We forecast the passenger flow will peak on December 23, 2013 and the return flow will peak on January 6, 2014," Director General for Sea Transportation Bobby S Mamahit remarked on Monday.

He stated that his side will install closed-circuit television (CCTV) monitors at 25 out of the 52 seaports to monitor the movement of passengers during the year-end festivities. This is because the number of passengers using sea transport increases every year.

To cope with the increased number of passengers, ships are allowed to increase their passenger capacity by about 30 percent. However, they should equip themselves to comply with the required safety regulations.

He said that CCTV monitors will be installed, among others, at the ports of Balewan (North Sumatra), Dumai (Riau), Tanjung Balai Karimun (Riau Islands), Batam (Riau Islands), Ternate (Maluku), Bau-Bau (Southeast Sulawesi), and Jayapura (Papua).

The Transportation Directorate General will set up command posts to monitor and supervise the passenger flow.

Bobby added that the number of sea passengers this year-end is expected to rise by 20 percent or about 176,499 passengers from 888,299 in 2012 to 1,058,998 in 2013.

"The number of passengers will increase, but it will not be that significant as compared to the increase during the Idul Fitri post-fasting holidays. As of now, our preparations are more than sufficient," noted Bobby.

In connection with increasing the ship capacity, Bobby noted that passenger ships can increase their capacity by about 30 percent, as long as they equip themselves to meet the necessary safety regulations.

"Besides this, we have to be on alert and increase supervision to ensure the safety and security of passengers and ships. To achieve this, we will coordinate with the local Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Offices (BMKG)," Bobby stated.

Last week, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono reminded government officials about the importance of ensuring safety during bad weather, especially since the Christmas and New Year festivities are approaching.

"Right now, the weather conditions are not good. Transport operators, the Ministry of Transportation, and government officials in the region should effectively manage their various modes of transport to prevent accidents," the President noted.

Therefore, the Ministry of Transportation took follow-up steps to intensively supervise, for example, keeping track of the number of tickets sold and the number of anticipated passengers, thus ensuring that the permissible capacity is not crossed.

In the meantime, the Ministry of Transportation also forecast a 10 percent increase in air passengers.

"There will be an increase in the number of passengers. The number of air passengers had increased by 13 percent last year. However, we predict that it will increase by only 10 percent this year," Director General Air Transportation Harry Bakti Gumay stated on Monday.

Harry noted that if the number of passengers in 2013 increased significantly, then his side will still be able to handle it because the air transportation capacity in Indonesia is relatively high. After all, it has also scheduled extra flights.

Based on the transport ministry's data, airlines in the country had 93.364 additional seats for various destinations in Indonesia.

"Extra flights are usually operated by the airlines at night, so that regular flight schedules are not disturbed," explained Harry.

He further added that extra flights were subject to the same regulations that applied to regular flights, which includes safety and security regulations, apart from airport preparation for arrivals and departures.

"Before any departure, a confirmation will be made to assure that the destination airport is ready to accommodate the extra flight," Harry remarked.

The Ministry of Transportation forecast the number of passengers using land transport will also show a slight increase of about 2.1 percent.

During this year's Christmas and New Year celebrations, the number of passengers taking the land route is estimated to increase from 2,723,868 in 2012 to 2,781,862.

According to Director General of Land Transportation Suroyo Alimoeso, the Ministry of Transportation will also monitor passengers traveling by land in several locations in the Java provinces and the provinces of Bali, Lampung, North Sumatra, North Sulawesi, and provinces in Eastern Indonesian regions.

Suroyo stated that the land transport infrastructure still needed improvement because public vehicles ply on the same roads that are used by other types of vehicles, including private vehicles.

"It is not easy to handle it because the increase in vehicles and infrastructure development is not balanced, thereby causing traffic congestion. But the year-end, we hope conditions will be better than last year," noted Suroyo.

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