JAKARTA - Indonesia’s Ministry for the Protection of Migrant Workers (KP2MI) has placed reception teams at every major port of entry in anticipation of a surge in returning workers during the 2026 Eid holiday period, with officials warning that displacement from the Middle East conflict could push arrivals above last year’s figure of roughly 14,000.

Mangiring Hasoloan Sinaga, Director of Complaints, Mediation and Advocacy at KP2MI, made the announcement on Friday, March 13, after a coordination meeting at Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Tangerang covering both the Lebaran homecoming period and the repatriation of workers affected by the military escalation in the Middle East. 

“Our service officers at airport lounges, international ports, and border crossings have been put on standby. This is a direct directive from the Minister for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers to ensure optimal service for Indonesian migrant workers returning home,” he said.

Staff drawn from all 23 regional BP3MI offices will assist workers with arrival procedures, document handling and transit problems. No official forecast for total 2026 returnees has been issued yet, as final figures are typically compiled by KP2MI’s Directorate of Returns. 

Last year, around 14,000 migrant workers came home during the Lebaran period, mostly from Malaysia, Singapore and Middle Eastern countries. Mangiring said that figure could rise this year given the regional situation, though no Indonesian migrant workers have been reported stranded. 

Two charter flights from Ankara carrying workers displaced by the conflict had already been facilitated before the meeting, he confirmed.

Running in parallel, the government’s free “mudik” (Eid homecoming) bus programme is staging its first wave of departures on March 16 from Terminal Pondok Cabe in South Tangerang, with further departures on March 17 and 18 from four other Jabodetabek terminals. 

The Ministry of Transportation has deployed 401 buses with a combined capacity of 15,834 passengers across 34 destination cities in 10 provinces, with return trips scheduled from regional terminals on March 25.