Referring to the Health Ministry's circular No.02.02/I/2845/2021 dated on August 16, 2021, the price ceiling for individually-requested RT-PCR tests in Java and Bali is set at Rp495 thousand.
The air passengers taking this COVID-19 swab test in regions outside the two islands are required to pay Rp525 thousand.
Apart from the different amount of money the people must pay for their individually-requested RT-PCR tests, the government's decision to reduce the price cap has received positive responses from the public.
Haryadin Mahardika, an economist from the University of Indonesia (UI), said President Joko Widodo's recent request for reducing the price cap for the individually-requested PCR tests was a right decision.
He argued that it is time for the government to manage the price cap for various COVID-19 testing services, including swab and antigen tests, so that their production costs become transparent and affordable.
By applying the principles of transparency and affordability, the prices of those COVID-19 testing services could publicly be audited, he argued.
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President Joko Widodo had recently requested that the ceiling price for individually-requested PCR tests be set at between Rp450 thousand and Rp550 thousand.
He had also asked that the results of swab tests be issued within 24 hours of testing.
The government had earlier set the price cap for individually-requested PCR tests at Rp900 thousand, and rapid antigen tests at Rp250 thousand for the island of Java and Rp275 thousand for areas outside Java.
Twelve days before the government decided to reduce the price ceiling for the PCR tests from Rp900,000 to between Rp495,000 and Rp525,000, Garuda Indonesia employees had raised this PCR issue.
They urged the government to reconsider its decision to make polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests mandatory for air passengers in place of rapid antigen tests, arguing the step could affect airlines' occupancy.
The Garuda Indonesia Labor Union (Sekarga), Garuda Pilot Association (APG), and Garuda Indonesia Cabin Crew Union (Ikagi) made the request on behalf of employees in a letter to the Home Ministry on August 3, 2021.
According to Tomy Tampatty, union coordinator of United Garuda Indonesia, the Home Minister's Instruction No.27/2021 on the Enforcement of Level 4,3, and 2 Public Activity Restrictions in Java and Bali had made it compulsory for domestic airline passengers to take PCR tests at least 48 hours prior to departure.
However, travelers using other transportation modes, including private cars, motorbikes, buses, trains, and vessels are only required to show the results of rapid antigen tests taken a day before departure, he noted.
The different testing requirements for those traveling by airplanes and by other transportation modes in the country have created a sense of discrimination, Tampatty said.
He argued that traveling time is shorter for air passengers than those traveling by other means of transportation.
While taking a flight, passengers are also more comfortable because Garuda Indonesia, for instance, has strictly implemented the health protocols and installed HEPA filters to clean up cabin air, he said.
"PCR testing costs have become a burden for airline passengers, and, sometimes, they are higher than their flight ticket prices in certain flight routes," he said in a press statement that ANTARA received on August 4.
Many air passengers have complained about the PCR test requirement, he said, adding that this could have contributed to a drastic decline in the occupancy rate of airlines.
The government has positively responded to the people's complaints as evidently revealed by the Health Ministry's circular No.02.02/I/2845/2021 dated on August 16, 2021.
Several airport authorities have even followed up on the ministry's directive by implementing the government's newly-standardized price ceiling for the individually-requested RT-PCR tests.
State-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura I disclosed that the authority of Ngurah Rai International Airport in the resort island of Bali has imposed the newly-standardized price cap since August 19, 2021.
Ngurah Rai International Airport which is located in Badung District or about 13 km away from Denpasar, the capital of Bali Province, is one of 13 airports managed by AP I in central and eastern parts of Indonesia.
The RT-PCR tests are served to travelers at the domestic arrival terminal's public area as a result of the airport authority's collaboration with the Bali Jimbaran Public Hospital, PT AP I General Manager at Ngurah Rai International Airport Herry A.Y. Sikado said.
The airport's COVID-19 testing booth also serves those in need of rapid antigen tests by paying Rp200,000. Both the PCR and antigen test results have been integrated into the Health Ministry's PeduliLindungi App.
The price ceiling is expected to help minimize air passengers' expenses, and have a positive impact on the air transport services, he added.
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Editor: Sri Haryati
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