Jakarta. The government is aiming for a 10-percent reduction in domestic airfare by October before a new cabinet is installed. 

According to Tourism Minister Sandiaga Uno, work is underway to make it cheaper for people to fly from one Indonesian city to another. The government has set up a dedicated task force that brings together relevant ministries for this matter. 

“We wish to make flight tickets 10 percent cheaper before our term ends in October,” Sandiaga said in a recent talk show hosted by IDTV. 

The Tourism Ministry is also planning to negotiate with a number of domestic airlines, including the flag carrier Garuda Indonesia and Lion Group. These discussions will also revolve around the operational costs of taxes, subsidies, and how to keep the jet fuel price in check. They will discuss airline efficiency and infrastructure development. 

“We must keep on promoting domestic tourism and there should be no monopolistic practices [by the airlines]. We must support the entry of new airlines into our country,” Sandiaga said.

The government’s move followed concerns over expensive domestic airfare. As a case in point, it costs Rp 1.8 million ($110) to travel from Jakarta to Bali’s Denpasar using Garuda Indonesia on July 31, according to ticketing platform Tiket.com. Lion Air economy class tickets for a trip from Jakarta to North Sumatra’s Medan can reach almost Rp 1.8 million on the same date. For comparison, Batik Air -- the subsidiary of Lion Air -- sells Jakarta-Singapore tickets for almost Rp 1.3 million. 

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