VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Lombok International Airport . (ANTARA/Akhyar/uyu) - 

State-run airport operator PT Angkasa Pura I recorded a surge in the number of passengers at Lombok International Airport, reaching 11,400 people per day, due to the implementation of the Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia.

"Currently, (the number of) passengers at Lombok Airport is starting to increase," Public Relations Officer of PT Angkasa Pura I for Lombok International Airport Arif Haryanto stated in Praya Sub-district, Central Lombok District, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Province, on Saturday.

Spectators of the international motorcycle racing event, held at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit on March 18-20, 2022, had started to arrive two days ago.

On March 17, 2022, the official stated that the number of passengers at the airport had reached 8,200 people, comprising six thousand arriving passengers and 2,200 departing passengers.

"Meanwhile, 11,400 passengers were recorded on March 18, 2022, comprising 8,900 arriving passengers and 2,500 departing passengers," he remarked.

Earlier, General Manager of PT Angkasa Pura I for Lombok International Airport Nugroho Jati noted that the airport will operate round the clock in order to support the international racing event.

Hence, his side had readied the complete infrastructure, such as the airport apron, visitors’ entry and exit areas, as well as parking management.

"There is an average increase of 100 flights per day, which means the number of flights surges by 120 percent during the implementation of the Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia," he remarked.

He stated that the number of passengers at the airport before the pandemic had averaged eight thousand per day. Meanwhile, amid the pandemic, the figure had declined to 3,500 people per day.

"Most of the flights come from Jakarta, Denpasar City (Bali Province), and Surabaya City (East Java Province)," he added.

Earlier, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) stated that some 60 thousand tickets of the racing event had been sold out. Jokowi expects that the event would be an opportunity for Indonesia to promote its tourism potentials//ANT