Jokowi Will Inaugurate Today, Mentawai Airport Ready To Be Landed By ATR Aircraft And Private Jets

JAKARTA - Mentawai Airport, in the Mentawai Islands, West Sumatra, will be inaugurated by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) today.

This airport is believed to increase the potential of the surrounding area.

This was conveyed by the Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi while reviewing the readiness for the inauguration of the Mentawai Airport, Tuesday, October 24.

"I ensure that this Mentawai Airport can be used. God willing, the President is willing to inaugurate tomorrow (Wednesday, October 25)," Budi said in an official statement, Wednesday, October 25.

Budi said that Mentawai Airport, which only has a runway length of 1,500 times 30 meters, can be based on a larger aircraft, namely ATR 72-600 with a maximum capacity of 78 passengers.

Previously, the old airport could only be based on the Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft with a capacity of 12 people with a runway length of 850 times 23 meters.

Mentawai is one of the outermost areas where previously the airport was not capable. With this new airport, it allows ATR and private jet aircraft to come here," he said.

Budi said that with the aircraft capacity increasing from 12 to 78 people per flight, it is hoped that the presence of a new airport can increase the number of visitors, especially tourists, to come to the Mentawai.

Moreover, continued Budi, Mentawai is a surfing tourist spot.

"With the airport, it is hoped that it can increase the number of tourists and make it easier for people to go home and leave, for example from Padang here or vice versa," he explained.

On the same occasion, the Acting (Pj) Regent of the Mentawai Islands Fernando Jongguran Simanjuntak conveyed that the existence of Mentawai Airport will facilitate access to the Mentawai, so that visits to Mentawai will increase and of course will encourage economic improvement here.

"In Mentawai there is also a specific tour, namely surfing, whose number of arrivals reaches 17,000 surfers per year. We are optimistic that the number will increase with increased airport service access," said Fernando.

Fernando revealed that so far one of the obstacles experienced by tourists to access Mentawai is the weather factor that affects sea transportation.

With air transportation access, there are more and more alternative options for entry to Mentawai and do not depend on sea routes.

Fernando also ensured that access to and from the airport was ready to operate. Damri transportation has been operating to serve the Old Pelajat-Rokot-Sioban route.

This route passes from ports, new airports, to residential areas.