Jakarta: Nearly half of Indonesia's population is anticipated to commute across the archipelago to spend Eid Al-Fitr with their families, clogging up public transport hubs and thoroughfares across the country on Thursday.

According to estimates from the transport ministry, this year's annual "mudik" exodus in the largest Muslim-majority country in the world will involve more than 123 million people, or nearly 40 million more than in 2022.

Travellers flocked to airports, train stations, and bus terminals all week as they left major cities to travel to their hometowns to observe the religious holiday after all COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in December.

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After spending 16 hours travelling 260 kilometres from Jakarta to Brebes in Central Java, Imel, a 19-year-old student living in Jakarta, told Arab News, "I am so happy to be going back to my hometown, even though it was really tiring and I felt sore all over the trip."

Outside of the Eid holiday season, I would occasionally travel the seven hours or so to my hometown.

She claimed that the trip was worthwhile because she would get to see her family, saying, "What makes me happy is getting to hang out with my extended family, going around our village to offer our wishes, and all the culinary delights."

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Aerial footage of some of the main routes out of the Greater Jakarta area, where about 18 million people are expected to depart, revealed long lines of cars crawling on either side of toll booths.

Since Tuesday, no more seats have been available on trains leaving from the two major stations in the centre of Jakarta, according to the state-owned railway company of Indonesia, PT KAI.

"The occupancy is 100% from April 18 to April 21 during this time. The public has purchased tickets to fill every seat on every departing train, according to KAI spokesperson Eva Chairunisa.

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According to a survey by the Transportation Ministry, private cars are the most popular mode of transportation for Indonesians during this Eid season, followed by motorcycles and buses.

The exodus this year is anticipated to peak on Friday as people rush to get to their hometowns in time for the first day of Eid.