"We are optimistic that the Eid homecoming flow will reach 12 thousand passengers per day, as long as the government continues to ease (the requirements) for air travel, and along with the increasing number of vaccinated people," acting interim general manager of Yogyakarta International Airport, Agus Pandu Purnama, informed in Kulon Progo District, Yogyakarta, on Tuesday.
Since the issuance of the Transportation Ministry's Circular Letter No. 21 of 2022, the number of airplane passengers via Yogyakarta International Airport has increased by around 32 percent per day, he said.
The circular letter issued by the Ministry of Transportation is guiding the implementation of domestic air travel amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before the circular was issued, the number of YIA passengers was below five thousand per day, Purnama said. However, currently, the number of passengers at YIA is ranging from six thousand to seven thousand per day, he added.
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"The number of passengers on the weekends can reach 8,600 per day," he said.
Meanwhile, deputy chairman I of the Kulon Progo Regional Legislative Body (DPRD), Ponimin Budi Hartono, said the high number of airplane passengers at Yogyakarta International Airport is an opportunity for micro, small, and medium (MSME) players.
According to Hartono, MSME players who have cooperated with the airport management can sell local Kulon Progo products on the Malioboro terrace of YIA.
"We hope that MSME actors will also prepare their products to be put at outlets that sell souvenirs so that this increase in passenger numbers can revive the economy that has been impacted by COVID-19," he said.
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Translator: Sutarmi, Kenzu T
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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