The Busiest Airports In Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia is in Southeast Asia and is made up of 13,466 islands. It is bordered by East Timor, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea. Air travel in Indonesia is a critical means of connecting the islands of the country with one another. Indonesia is one of the largest aviation markets in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and is expected to be among the largest air travel markets in the world by 2034. Indonesia has more than 200 airports with most of them under the management and operations of the Transportation Ministry technical services unit. Some of the busiest airports in the country include;

1. Soekarno–Hatta International Airport

Soekarno–Hatta International Airport serves the Greater Jakarta region. It was named after Soekarno and Mohammad Hatta who were the country’s president and the vice-president respectively. The airport is located northwest of central Jakarta and began its operations in 1986 to replace the Kemayoran Airport which has since been demolished. It is the busiest airport in the country and struggles to serve all flights with its current capacity of 72 planes per hour. Planes form long landing and taking-off queues. The airport has shops, restaurants, lounges, smoking garden, and reading areas with WiFi.

2. Ngurah Rai International Airport

Ngurah Rai International Airport is located about 8 miles south of Denpasar. Ngurah Rai International Airport registered 39,500 international and another 64,000 domestic flights which served 12.7 million passengers in 2011. The airport has a capacity to serve both small and Boeing aircraft. Ngurah Rai International Airport was named after Gusti Ngurah Rai who was a Balinese hero who died in a puputan against the Dutch. The international terminal separates the departure and arrival and has a capacity of approximately 4.9 million passengers per year. The domestic terminal can serve approximately 9.5 million passengers per year.

3. Juanda International Airport

Juanda International Airport is located in sedate, approximately 8 miles from Surabaya, and serves the greater Surabaya metropolitan area. Juanda International Airport was named after Djuanda who was the last prime minister of Indonesia who proposed the development of the airport. The airport handled about 11 million passengers in 2011 despite its 6-million capacity. Its air traffic control radar system can track only 21 aircraft per hour. The airport has two terminals with Terminal 1 serving the domestic flights while Terminal 2 is used by international flights.

4. Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport

Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport is located 12 miles of Makassar between the border of Makassar and Maros. It was formally called Kadieng Flying Field and was constructed in 1935. The PT currently manages Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport. Angkasa Pura 1 while the number of passengers using the airport has increased sixfold. The airport served over 7 million passengers 73,000 aircraft in 2011. It is also home to the Skadron Udara 5 and 11. Buses operated by Damri serves the airport.

5. Kualanamu International Airport

Kualanamu International Airport was recently constructed and named after its location in Kuala Namu. It is located on the site of what used to be an oil palm plantation and is expected to become an international transit center in western regions of Indonesia. Kualanamu International Airport is the second largest in Indonesia and is expected to have a capacity of 50 million passengers. The airport has a single runway capable of serving wide-bodied aircraft. The airport served approximately 8 million passengers and 68,000 aircraft in 2012. Kualanamu International Airport is served by trains, buses, taxis, and cars.