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Fewer international airports won’t affect tourism, says tourism minister Sandiaga
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Foreign tourists walk on a beach in Seminyak, Badung regency, Bali, on Dec. 7, 2022.
(AFP/Sony Tumbelaka)
T
he government’s plans to reduce the number of number of international airports from 32 to about 15 is unlikely to have an affect on tourism, said Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno on Monday during a weekly briefing.
While many international airports will be closed to cut costs and improve efficiency, Sandiaga reaffirmed that the 15 airports, including the ones that are being upgraded to international airport status to support tourism in their area, will remain open and not reduce incoming flights from abroad.
This includes Labuan Bajo’s Komodo Airport in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), which had its runway expanded last year to accommodate narrow-body aircraft that can serve short international routes, such as Boeing 737s. The airport is currently seeking to allow international airlines to make direct flights to Labuan Bajo, the gateway to the famous Komodo National Park.
“These 14 or 15 airports will roughly account for 98 percent of foreign tourist travel,” Sandiaga said as quoted by Tempo.co.
In late January, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo agreed with Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi and State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir to cut the number of international airports by almost half to create a more efficient “hub and spoke” system.
Only 14 to 15 international airports will remain, while the 18 others will be repurposed to cater to haj and umrah (minor haj) flights.
“We will examine the matter further so interconnectivity will not be jeopardized and Indonesia can reach its target of 7.4 million tourists without burdening the state budget,” said Sandiaga.
