Indonesia Opens 4 More Airports for International Flights, a Total of 11

TheIndonesia.co - The Indonesian government reopens international flights at four airports in line with the positive developments of the COVID-19 pandemic situation in Indonesia. These four airports follow seven airports that have been operated since last month.

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan stated that on Monday, April 4, 2022. "One thing we still have to improve is the international flight capacity which is still far from normal. For that, the government will take steps, including opening international airports, including Yogyakarta, Medan, Makassar, and Pekanbaru," Pandjitan said at a press conference related to the evaluation of the implementation of restrictions on community activities (PPKM) with President Joko Widodo at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Monday.

Along with the four airports reopening, the government also relaxed its visa policy to get closer to the rules before the COVID-19 pandemic. The government will also relax the rules and test points for foreign travelers (PPLN).

"So the number of incoming flights can increase without causing a buildup at the airport," he said.

A detailed explanation of the travel policy will be stated in the latest circular letter that will be issued by the COVID-19 Task Force. The latest policy increases the number of airports that are open to foreign travelers.

Previously, based on the Task Force COVID-19 Circular dated March 23, 2022, there were seven airports open for international flights, namely Soekarno-Hatta (Jakarta), Juanda (East Java), Ngurah Rai (Bali), Hang Nadim (Riau Islands), Raja Haji Fisabilillah (Riau Islands), Sam Ratulangi (North Sulawesi), and Zainuddin Abdul Madjid (West Nusa Tenggara).

The additional four airports for international flights cannot be separated from the COVID-19 pandemic progress in Indonesia, where the daily transmission case rate fell by 97 percent compared to the peak phase of transmission of the Omicron variant. Pandjaitan said active cases of COVID-19 nationally have now fallen to 83 percent and are below 100,000 active cases.