Jokowi Is Pleased That General Sudirman Airport Is Operational Even Though The Passenger Terminal Is Still An Emergency

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) gave his own appreciation for the start of the operation of General Besar Sudirman Airport in Purbalingga even though the facilities and infrastructure built have not yet reached 100 percent completion.

According to the President, operating the airport without waiting for the terminal construction to be completed makes it more productive than having to wait until the project is completed. According to him, this method is expected to be followed by other airports which are still under construction.

"This is good, I'm happy even though the terminal is still an emergency terminal, but the airport is already in use. I think this will be more productive and can be replicated in other places that are also in the process of airport construction", he said during a direct review of the General Besar Sudirman Airport as shown quoted from an official statement, Friday, May 11.

The President added that the presence of this latest infrastructure is believed to be able to contribute to accelerating economic growth and increasing community accessibility in the Central Java region, especially the western and southern parts.

"Step by step (development), later this airport can be landed by larger aircraft", he said.

On the same occasion, the Minister of Transportation, Budi Karya Sumadi, said that the construction of the General Besar Sudirman Airport in Purbalingga was a direct initiative of the President since 2016, and had been halted due to the pandemic.

However, the Minister of Transportation claimed that good collaboration between stakeholders makes this public facility able to find the right solution.

“I communicated with the Governor of Central Java and the Regent of Purbalingga to find a way out. Finally, we found a format to build a temporary passenger terminal funded by the APBD (Regional Budget), so that the airport can operate”, he said.

Furthermore, the Minister of Transportation hopes that this fast-paced pattern can be applied to other airports that already have runways but do not have a lot of movement.

"I ask the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, AP II, airlines, and the regional government to coordinate intensively to continue to increase the movement of aircraft and passengers at this airport, at least above 80 percent. For example, by opening flights on Friday, Monday, and Sunday to attract people who will vacation in Purbalingga", he explained.

To note, this airport has airside facilities, namely a 1,600 x 30-meter runway and 69 x 103-meter apron, to serve ATR-72 aircraft and the like, as well as category 5 PKP-PK facilities and can accommodate a capacity of up to 300,000 passengers per year. The temporary passenger terminal area is 457 square meters with a capacity of 13,701 passengers.

According to the plan, the airport construction will be expanded with the addition of runway length facilities to 2,200 meters. These conditions allow larger aircraft such as the Airbus 320 and Boeing 737-800 or 737-900 to land.

The airport that is the pride of the citizens of Purbalingga is projected to accommodate up to 3,000 passengers per day with flight frequencies reaching 40 times in 24 hours.