Paying at a separate counter its tax will soon turn to be a gesture from the past as airlines will step by step integrate airport taxes into the ticket…
JAKARTA- It started on September 28 with Indonesia national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia. After weeks of delay, the carrier Garuda Indonesia including the passenger service charge (PSC), or airport tax, in the cost of airline tickets out of Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. “In the first phase, we will implement the new system at Soekarno-Hatta airport before implementing it at all airports across the country,” declared Garuda Vice President for Communication Pujobroto in a conversation with the daily Jakarta Post.
Originally slated for September 1st, Garuda had to delay the tax integration implementation due to IT problems of integrating the tax into the calculation mode following IATA standards. The airline’s IT system adopted IATA’s Billing Settlement Plan (BSP) to include the airport tax in ticket prices. Only domestic flights are for now concerned but it will soon also be available for international routes.
From October 1st, Indonesian airport’s authority Angkasa Pura II, which operates Jakarta CGK airport but also important gateways such as Bandung, Medan, Padang or Pekanbaru will also generalize the integration of airport’s tax into the ticket on the steps of Garuda Indonesia.
“Other airlines and international flights will soon follow suit. Yet, it also depends on the preparedness of the airlines to implement the new system,” said AP II president director Tri Sunoko in a press release. The integration of the tax will help to reduce queues at counters as it will speed up airport’s check-in. AP II President is optimistic that all carriers will include the tax in airline ticket prices by the end of the first half of 2013. All airports will integrate the airport’s tax into air tickets in 2014.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
