Indonesian aviation sector sets to recover faster than expected

Illustrative image (Photo: Wikimedia)

Indonesian airlines have expressed optimism that passenger figures on domestic routes are on track to get back to the pre-pandemic level in the first quarter of 2024, nearly a year faster than previously estimated.

Indonesian National Aviation Association (INACA) secretary-general Bayu Susanto said the complete recovery of the domestic aviation industry, initially expected for late 2024, was now projected to take place as early as the first quarter of next year, assuming “the current trend persists”.

International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates released on December 6 see the Asia Pacific (APAC) airline industry reaching the 2019 level in 2024.

Statistics Indonesia (BPS) recorded 52.5 million domestic airline passengers last year, equivalent to 68.5% of 2019’s figure. According to Bayu, challenges to the recovery of domestic routes are high interest rate that affects aircraft rental rates, as well as high exchange rates and fuel prices.

He said that the financial situation of airlines had been affected by the pandemic and this effect has persisted until now, hindering the recovery process.

Indonesian airlines also predict that growth on international routes will be faster than the previous estimate. INACA believes the market will fully recover in the third quarter of 2024.

For international flights, BPS statistics showed that domestic airlines carried about 1.08 million passengers to and from Indonesia in 2022, much lower than the 1.72 million arrivals in 2019.

The Indonesian government has actively lobbied China to open more direct flights to raise the number of passengers.

AirAsia Indonesia CEO Veranita Yosephine said that 2023 is "an exciting time" for the airline with plans to increase its fleet to 32 aircraft and reach pre-pandemic levels by the end of this year./.

VNA