Jakarta. Indonesians across the archipelago are celebrating the holiday season by going on vacation be it in the country or abroad, and this has been a boon to the aviation industry.

State-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura II reported that the Soekarno-Hatta airport in Tangerang witnessed rising passenger volume during the Christmas and New Year holidays. The airport already posted about 1 million passengers this holiday season, up by 18 percent from the previous year.

“The rising passenger volume at the Soekarno-Hatta airport shows that the aviation industry has been improving. There is also a significant increase in cargoes that enter and leave this airport,” Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said Monday.

According to Budi, the Soekarno-Hatta airport’s on-time performance - -which measures the punctuality of airline departure or arrival -- stands at approximately 71 percent. Popular international destinations among those who depart from Soekarno-Hatta Airport are Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Jeddah. Domestic travelers mainly go to Denpasar, Medan, and Surabaya.

The minister also held ramp checks to inspect aircraft safety on the flag carrier Garuda Indonesia planes. As many as 60 percent of the airplanes had gone through ramp checks. 

Over 130,000 people flew from and to the Soekarno-Hatta airport on Monday. About 59,567 people arrived at the airport that day. As many as 72,173 others departed from the Soekarno-Hatta airport. According to the Soekarno-Hatta airport spokesman M Holik Muardi, the holiday rush already peaked on December 22-23. 

“The travel rush peaked on Dec. 22 which saw a total of 184,000 passengers [for both domestic and international flights]. There were 183,000 passengers the following day,” Holik told Beritasatu on Monday.

The number of passengers will likely reach another peak on Dec. 29-30, just ahead of the new year. The ridership will likely be around 180,000 as well, according to Holik.

The Transport Ministry recently reported that as many as 107 million people would travel this holiday season. Most travelers would favor using their own vehicles. As many as 35.57 percent of travelers would likely pick private vehicles to go on vacation. Followed by motorcycles (17 percent), trains (13 percent), airplanes (11 percent), and buses (10 percent). About 3 percent of the Indonesians picked ferries for their holiday trip.

On Dec. 22-23, the police recorded 69,930 vehicles leaving Jakarta via the Cikampek main toll gate to the Trans-Java toll road.

According to the state-owned ferry company ASDP, about 4,964 four-wheelers passed through the Merak port towards Bakauheni in Lampung a day before Christmas. This marks an 8 percent decline versus the 5,416 units seen the previous year, Antara wrote.