Presidential Aircraft Successfully Landing For The First Time At IKN Airport, Minister Of Transportation: Alhamdulillah

Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi together with President Joko Widodo (Photo: Doc. Ministry of Transportation)

JAKARTA - The RJ85 Presidential Aircraft carrying President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) flying from Pontianak, West Kalimantan, managed to land for the first time smoothly at Nusantara Airport, the capital city of Nusantara (IKN), East Kalimantan, Tuesday, September 24.

Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi said preparations for the landing of the presidential plane had been carried out over the past few weeks.

"Today is September 24th. I am at Nusantara Airport. Today is a historic landing. Alhamdulillah, the President has landed here," he said in an official statement, Tuesday.

Budi said that the IKN Airport VVIP Terminal in East Kalimantan was also almost complete.

"There is a (VVIP terminal) building that is so monumental, is an architecture of Kalimantan, but we are elaborating into something dynamic," he said.

Seeing the current condition, Budi is optimistic that IKN Airport will be completed as a whole, with a runway of 3,000 meters, according to the time target of December 31, 2024.

"Currently, Nusantara IKN Airport has a runway measuring 2,200 times 30 meters. A series of test flights and landings have been carried out at IKN Airport to see flight safety and security," he said.

Budi said airport verification was carried out from September 8 to 9, 2024, then the calibration was carried out on September 10, 2024 by the Center for Aviation Facilities Calibration, Ministry of Transportation.

In addition, three aircraft belonging to the Indonesian Air Force (AU) have also conducted trials at Nusantara Airport on September 14, 15, and 20, 2024 with three aircraft types, namely Casa 212/A-2104, CN 295/A-2905, and Hercules C130/A-1338. The test went smoothly and successfully.

Meanwhile, President Jokowi said the plane carrying him landed smoothly at IKN Airport. He said this airport is not too big, but it is more than enough.

The former governor of DKI Jakarta also hopes that the benefits of Nusantara Airport in IKN can be felt by more people.

"Alhamdulillah, this is the first landing, going well. Everything went smoothly and this is my first time getting off at Nusantara Airport. The landing was smooth, then it came in very good. Not too big but more than enough," said Jokowi.