InJourney boss predicts 9 million passengers for 2026 Eid travel

InJourney Indonesia's CEO, Maya Watono, forecasts 9 million air passengers during the 2026 Eid exodus across 35 managed airports. This projection indicates a roughly 2 percent rise from the previous year. The company is preparing several measures to handle the anticipated surge.

Jakarta – CEO of PT Aviasi Pariwisata Indonesia (Persero), known as InJourney Indonesia, Maya Watono, stated that the number of air passengers during the 2026 Eid mudik period is expected to reach 9 million people. This was announced on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, highlighting an approximate 2 percent increase from the same period in 2025.

"We predict there will be 9 million traffic at 35 InJourney airports during the 2026 Eid period, or an increase of about 2 percent compared to the same period last year," Maya said in her statement.

To anticipate the surge, InJourney plans to operate the Eid Command Post from March 13 to 29, 2026. All managed airports will run 24 hours a day, except for the Bali airport on March 19, 2026, which will close due to coinciding with Nyepi day. The company is also preparing nearly 16,000 personnel, including 3,000 additional staff to work in shifts.

"Except on March 19 in Bali, because it coincides with Nyepi so the airport will be closed. But otherwise, we will open the airports 24 hours with additional personnel," Maya added.

InJourney's Deputy CEO, Achmad Syahir, forecasts the peak mudik flow on March 14 and 15, 2026. On March 14, 37 airports are projected to see 549,554 passengers with 3,616 flights, while March 15 expects 546,984 passengers and 3,688 flights. A second peak is anticipated on March 18-19.

Driving factors include central government policies on joint leave and work from anywhere, starting earlier for outbound travel and extending longer for return flows. "So we predict the mudik peak will occur twice, namely on March 14-15 and 18-19," said Achmad Syahir.

Additionally, Indonesian police are deploying 161,000 personnel to secure the 2026 Eid travels under Operation Ketupat.

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