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Nusantara airport to be opened for commercial flights, Jokowi says
The new airport in Nusantara Capital City (IKN) will be more useful if it also serves passengers who want to go on haj, umrah (minor haj) and trips to and from the future capital city in East Kalimantan, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has said.
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President Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo (third left) disembarks the presidential plane upon arriving at Zainuddin Abdul Madjid Lombok International Airport in Central Lombok regency, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), during a presidential work visit to the province on Sept. 23, 2024. (Courtesy of BPMI Setpres/Muchlis Jr)
T
he new airport at the future capital city of Nusantara in East Kalimantan will serve commercial flights with a capacity of millions of passengers once it is up and running, says President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.
Jokowi made his first landing at 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday, flying on a small presidential plane after a visit from Pontianak, West Kalimantan. The plane, a BAe 146-200, was a quad-engine short-haul aircraft made by British Aerospace.
After landing in the future capital city, the outgoing president, who will leave office next month, inspected the airport’s facilities and their condition before delivering statements to journalists.
“I have instructed the transportation minister to change this airport into a commercial airport for the public, so it can be used to cater for haj and umrah [minor haj] flights,” Jokowi told reporters, according to a statement issued on Tuesday.
He estimated that the airport in Nusantara could serve up to 200,000 passengers by the end of this year. The long-term target is for the airport to serve up to 7 million passengers once it is fully operational as a commercial airport.
But the airport’s commercial operation would wait until a presidential regulation (perpres) mandating this was issued, Jokowi said, without elaborating on whether he would sign such a policy.
A perpres issued last year on the acceleration of the airport’s construction mandated that the airport in Nusantara would be a “special airport” used for governmental purposes in the new capital.
