The Indonesian government has temporarily suspended all commercial and chartered flights, following the decision to ban people from travelling to their hometowns during the Ramadan and Eid-ul-Fitr holidays, in a bid to curb further spread of the coronavirus.
The ban will take effect from April 24 to June 1, and might be extended depending on the situation, said Novie Riyanto, director general of air transportation, Ministry of Transportation, at a press conference on Thursday.
However, Novie said that airports and navigation space remain open for five exceptions, including flights for leaders of state institutions and state guests, representatives of international organisations, repatriation of Indonesian citizens and foreigners, law enforcement operations, cargo or passenger planes used to transport necessary goods such as medical and food supplies, and other flight operations that support Covid-19 containment efforts.
Under the new regulation, Novie said that airlines would be mandated to give full refunds to passengers, in cash or voucher. For the latter, the voucher must be valid for at least one year with a one-time extension.
The government has also suspended inter-city transport by train and buses during this period.
