Minister Of Transportation Budi Karya Hopes All Stakeholders Support Kertajati Airport Connectivity

Minister of Transportation (Menhub) Budi Karya Sumadi. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

Minister of Transportation (Menhub) Budi Karya Sumadi hopes that all stakeholders (stakeholders) support the connectivity and operations of West Java International Airport (BIJB) Kertajati, Majalengka Regency.

"I hope that all stakeholders, especially the governor, the tourism office, hotels, travel, let's support the activities in Kertajati, because we know that connectivity is unity," said the Minister of Transportation at Kertajati Airport, quoted from Antara, Sunday, October 29.

Starting October 29, 2023, Kertajati Airport received a commercial flight diversion from Husein Sastranegara Airport, Bandung City.

The transfer of operational flights was marked by the inaugural flight to Bali's I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport with AirAsia.

He said that as the second largest airport based on area after Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (Soetta), Kertajati Airport's position was quite central.

"I see from the macro to the micro that West Java is a beautiful place so that it becomes a tourist destination but also a population of West Java is large. Bandung, Cirebon, Sumedang are so large that the potential to leave is high. Now, going to Jakarta (Soetta Airport) must be 4-5 hours, here is only 1 hour," said the Minister of Transportation.

In addition, Kertajati Airport has also served Hajj and Umrah flights. Then, the inauguration of the Cileunyi-Sumedang-Dawuan (Cisumdawu) Toll Road also strengthened accessibility to Kertajati Airport and vice versa.

He also emphasized that the commercial flight transition to Kertajati Airport was based on security aspects related to the runway at Husein Sastranegara Airport.

"Husein (Sastranegara) has a short base and he is in a basin so that in terms of safety, Husein (Sastranegara) has problems, especially since the population is already large. Meanwhile, we need a runway of 3,000 meters, there are only 2,200 (meters) there," said the Minister of Transportation.

With these conditions, wide-body aircraft cannot land at Husein Sastranegara Airport.

"So that (Boeing) 777 can land, so that West Java can directly return from Saudi Arabia directly to here (Kertajati Airport), from Europe directly here, from America directly here, and of course this provides a rise of traffic to West Java and also friends who want to go to America one time can from here," said the Minister of Transportation.

It is known, starting October 29, 2023, Kertajati Airport serves seven domestic routes, namely Balikpapan, Banjarmasin, Batam, Denpasar, Makassar, Medan, and Palembang. There are a total of three airlines serving the route.

"The first was to Bali. There was a flight to Balikpapan, there was a trip to Kualanamu, Makassar, Palembang, Batam. So, there were seven locations but indeed the favorites were Bali, Kualanamu, and Balikpapan," he said.