Angkasa Pura

Together Facing Corona Challenges: SOE Minister Optimistic Airport Minimizes Spread, PT Angkasa Pura II Convinced Flight Remains Stable

Jakarta - SOE Minister Erick Thohir this morning, Wednesday, March 11, 2020, reviewed the operations of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, especially related to efforts to prevent the spread of Corona (COVID-19) to Indonesia.

On that occasion, the Minister of BUMN was accompanied by Deputy Minister of BUMN II Kartika Wirjoatmodjoo and Managing Director of PT Angkasa Pura II (Persero) Muhammad Awaluddin.

The SOE Minister arrived at Terminal 3 at around 09.00 WIB and immediately inspected the thermal scanners in the departure area, right after the Gate 3 entrance.

After that, the SOE Minister reviewed the i-Millennial Airport Travel Experience Lounge (i-MATE Lounge) which is a one stop solution for various traveler needs.

A review is then carried out on body temperature monitoring activities in the international arrivals area, where in this area there are several passenger lanes for inspection with thermal scanners and thermo guns.

If a newly arrived international passenger has a body temperature above 38 degrees celsius, further assistance will be provided by the Port Health Office.

SOE Minister Erick Thohir said the surveillance carried out in Soekarno-Hatta was an effort to minimize the risk of Corona's spread to Indonesia.

"Flow from starting to enter even [until] arrival [at Soekarno-Hatta], we try to minimize the risk of [Corona spreading] by [using] large and small devices [for body temperature measurements]," said the SOE Minister.

The SOE Minister said that synergy must be carried out among all parties in handling.

In addition, the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises also said that service to the community must remain optimal.

Meanwhile, President Director of PT Angkasa Pura II Muhammad Awaluddin said the global spread of the Corona virus did present a challenge but the impact was expected to not be too large for the performance of PT Angkasa Pura II.

This is because the airports of PT Angkasa Pura II serve more domestic flights compared to international flights.

"Domestic routes at the airport of PT Angkasa Pura II reached 75%, while international only 25%. As we know, Corona's global spread has more impact on international flights. Because we have far more domestic routes, the impact has not been felt too large, "said Muhammad Awaluddin.

During January 2020, passenger movements at 19 airports of PT Angkasa Pura II recorded 8.01 million passengers, or relatively stable compared to January 2019 with 8.06 million passengers.

"In fact, in February 2020 the number of passengers rose 0.09% compared to February 2019 or from 7.012 million passengers to 7.018 million passengers. Specifically in March 2020, we expect a slight decrease of 0.93% compared to the same month last year, "said Muhammad Awaluddin.

The aircraft movement is also expected to increase, where the projections in the First Quarter / 2020 could reach 203,064 movements, up 9% compared with the same period the previous year.

"National airlines are expected to prepare more capacity for domestic flights, so if demand for flights on domestic routes begin to grow, the capacity is already available," explained Muhammad Awaluddin.

In terms of financial performance, PT Angkasa Pura II is increasingly focused on boosting the nonaeronautical business, among others through optimization of subsidiaries such as PT Angkasa Pura Propertindo, PT Angkasa Pura Kargo, PT Angkasa Pura Solusi, PT Angkasa Pura Aviasi and PT Gapura Angkasa.

"The development of the nonaeronautics business is important enough so that the company does not only depend on the aeronautics business alone especially with the global challenges in spreading Corona. Specifically, we also implement the concept of adjacent business to generate revenue from new business lines both in aeronautics and nonaeronautics to maintain financial performance, "explained Muhammad Awaluddin.

Adjacent Business that has been run this year includes building an aircraft repair shop business (Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul / MRO), and Kualanamu Airport's strategic partnership program.

PT Angkasa Pura II manages 19 airports in Indonesia including Soekarno-Hatta which is the largest and busiest airport in the country. The number of passenger movements in Soekarno-Hatta alone each year reaches around 60-70 million passengers.