TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Transportation Ministry will cut the upper limit tariff or airplane tickets by about 15 percent. The forced policy is taken as a final resort to the curb airfares, as airlines insist on keeping the current prices of domestic flights, which had soared since the end of last year.

The correction in the upper limit fare for domestic flights will be decided today, May 13, after Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi reports the results of his team's calculations to Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Darmin Nasution.

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Minister Budi Karya said that this step was taken because airlines have failed to comply with his Ministry's request to cut prices by means of applying sub-class categories.

"The law is clear, we are allowed to determine prices on the basis of the public interests," Budi told Tempo on Thursday, May 9.

KORAN TEMPO