Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Minister of State Enterprises (SOE), Erick Thohir, has said that the prices of air tickets are one of the most important elements in controlling inflation, for which the government had continued to take stabilization measures.
“Yesterday, during the 2022 National Coordination Meeting for Inflation Control at the State Palace, the President explicitly called for the stabilization of air ticket prices because it has a great impact on the control of our inflation,” Thohir noted in Jakarta on Friday.
Thohir said that his ministry had quickly prepared a formula to stabilize air ticket prices, considering that state-owned enterprises not only serve as the engine of the national economy, but should also act as a counterbalance when the prices of the market were experiencing turbulence.
This has been proven by state-owned companies when they intervened in mask prices and market operations for food needs, the minister said.
“This time, we have to be there to balance the market by keeping inflation down and also help people get plane tickets at affordable prices,” Thohir said.
The minister acknowledged asking the state-owned air operator, PT Garuda Indonesia, to increase the frequency of flights to meet the growing demand from air service users to reduce airfare prices.
He believes this momentum can help Garuda regain the public’s trust. He noted that the airfare price intervention demonstrated that Garuda’s transformation and restructuring was on the right track.
“It’s time for Garuda to come and respond to the trust and support of the community (members), who currently need affordable airfare prices,” Thohir said.
The Minister echoed his full support for the measures taken by the Ministry of Transport to control the prices of air tickets. He said the ministry’s efforts to engage stakeholders, such as local governments, to help secure passenger occupancy levels and provide subsidies and other incentives, were appropriate.
Joint collaboration is deemed necessary as stabilizing air ticket prices has required synergy among several parties, from the central government, regional governments and state-owned enterprises to the private sector, the minister noted.
“Through a global collaboration, we are optimistic that we can immediately stabilize the prices of air tickets. This will certainly have a great impact on the activities and the economy of our community which really needs this mode of transport”, has underlined Thohir.
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