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High hopes for Runway 3 at Soekarno-Hatta airport
Over the past two decades, air traffic congestion has caused frequent disruption at departure terminals, resulting in many delayed flights, even outright cancellation.
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo talks to reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport's third runway in Tangerang, Banten, on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020. (Courtesy of the Transportation Ministry/-)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Jan. 23 inaugurated the third runway of Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (SHIA), which was built to manage the rapid growth in air traffic at the country’s busiest airport.
Over the past two decades, air traffic congestion has caused frequent disruption at departure terminals, resulting in many delayed flights, even outright cancellation.
Air traffic had reached such a critical level that flight delays lasted between eight and 10 hours. Such a severe traffic problem could have been avoided had the SHIA management, in this case state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II, properly anticipated the impacts of growth in traffic.
Not only will the excessively high air traffic density be troublesome for travelers, but it will also threaten the safety of flights. Chaos in the departure hall will inconvenience passengers while they are at the airport.
Prior to the new runway’s opening, the government had tried to distribute excess flights from SHIA to East Jakarta’s Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport, which also has an Air Force base. Unfortunately, many air travelers eventually switched to Halim airport because of the gridlocked roads to Soekarno-Hatta. Moreover, Halim is closer to downtown Jakarta than SHIA, which is located in Tangerang municipality in Banten.
The biggest challenge, though, is how to manage traffic during takeoffs and landings because Halim airport is not suitable for taking on the load of so many commercial, civilian flights.
Late last year, the Asia and Pacific office of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO APAC) sent a warning letter to the Indonesian government regarding the development of SHIA’s Runway 3.
