Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan
Airlines at Medan's Polonia airport reported a drop in passenger numbers Monday, two days after a fire gutted the domestic terminal.
Check-in counters, set up in large tents at the nearby Air Force base, and the airport's waiting room appeared deserted.
The head of national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia's Medan representative office, Yona Mardiona, said they had seen a significant decline in passengers numbers following Saturday's fire.
He said the number of Garuda passengers reached 98 percent of its 1,296 seat capacity a day after the blaze, but dropped to 85 percent on Monday.
"We recorded a drop of around 13 percent. I don't know whether or not this is due to the fire," Yona told The Jakarta Post.
On normal days, most Garuda flights out of Polonia are fully booked, he said.
He said despite the drop in passenger numbers, Garuda would not change its flight schedule.
"Garuda will still serve 11 flights from Polonia airport daily," said Yona, adding nine of the 11 flights serve the Jakarta route, with the remaining two to Banda Aceh.
He said Garuda would move its domestic check-in counters to the airport's international terminal.
"According to our plan, we will move the counters to the international terminal on Wednesday."
Adam Air relocated its check-in counters to the airport's utility hall on Monday.
During an inspection of the gutted terminal, the director general of air transportation at the Transportation Ministry, Budi Mulyawan Suyitno, urged airport authorities to do everything they could to provide uninterrupted service to passengers.
He said his office had told state airport management company PT Angkasa Pura II to take immediate steps to cover the effects of the fire, such as hanging plastic sheets over damaged areas, to avoid giving passengers a negative impression.
Asked how long it would take to rebuild the terminal, Budi by next month at the latest.
"It will be ready by early January at the very latest, although it might not be as good as before, since it will cost a lot of money. Angkasa Pura will cover the costs," he said.
Airport head of operations Zulkifli Muslim on Monday said the damage from the fire was estimated at Rp 10 billion (approximately US$1.1 million).
"That does not include damages incurred by third parties at the airport," said Zulkifli, pointing to the various shops in the terminal that had suffered damage in the fire.
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