Jokowi Had Wanted To Land At IKN Airport But Failed, Why?

President Joko Widodo (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) admitted that he wanted to land at the new airport in the capital city of Nusantara (IKN), East Kalimantan yesterday.

However, the airport has not made it possible to land the presidential plane.

As is known, Jokowi flew to IKN on Thursday, September 12. His arrival was to lead the plenary cabinet session which was held this morning.

"Yesterday I actually wanted to get off at a new airport. But it turned out that it was not possible," he said in a speech at the inauguration ceremony of the Swiss Nusantara Hotel, quoted from the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube, Friday, September 13.

Jokowi said he still had to wait for the IKN airport to test the landing and take off with an aircraft the same size as a side plane.

"So we are still waiting for the landing and take off experiments from the planes that tried it. So indeed the plane we are traveling on has not been able to get off at the Nusantara Airport," he explained.

On the other hand, Jokowi asked the government to increase traffic or traffic flow at IKN Airport. According to him, traffic flow is important to sign that IKN is a crowded city.

"If later this airport can be a lot of traffic, many airlines, airlines, which go up and down at the airport of the archipelago, this will become a crowd at IKN. Indeed, what we are looking for is that the crowd must be crowded, so that the city ecosystem is built," he said.

Previously, it was reported that the Minister of Transportation (Menhub) Budi Karya Sumadi ensured that the Capital Airport of the Archipelago (IKN), in East Kalimantan, could accommodate the presidential plane in September.

This target is in line with President Joko Widodo (Jokowi)'s plan to move to IKN in September 2024. As is known, Jokowi's own tenure will end on October 20.

"In early September, yes (it could accommodate the presidential plane)," said Budi while lifting two thumbs ups, met in the Ancol area, Jakarta, Monday, August 26.