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IKN airport officially turns commercial
Nusantara International Airport has received ICAO registration code WALK and received public operational status.
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The Boeing 737-800 Indonesian Presidential Aircraft-1 carrying former president Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and his wife Iriana parks on Oct. 11, 2024, at the Nusantara Airport in East Kalimantan. (Antara Foto/Sigid Kurniawan)
T
he Nusantara International Airport in the planned new capital has received International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) registration code WALK and was granted public operational status as of Monday.
The airport is managed by a management unit (UPT) under the Transportation Ministry’s Civil Aviation Directorate General.
Previously, the airport was designated a very very important person (VVIP) Airport, or Naratetama, as outlined in Presidential Regulation No. 31/2023. The regulation aimed to fast-track the construction and operation of a special airport to serve government activities in Nusantara. This regulation will be revised following the airport's new status.
The airport is not yet registered with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), so it has yet to receive a three-letter code.
The four-letter ICAO code is used by air-traffic control systems while the three-letter IATA code is used for passenger reservation and ticketing as well as baggage handling systems.
The airport will primarily serve domestic flights and is under the jurisdiction of the Balikpapan Airport Authority (Region VII). The airport can accommodate Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
The Public Works Ministry has reported that the Nusantara International Airport’s runway is 70 percent complete. This 3,300-meter runway is expected to be finished by February 2025.
Highways Director General Rachman Arief Dienaputra said that the runway is being built in six layers, with two asphalt layers still under construction.
"There are still two layers of asphalt being completed to ensure everything is finished on schedule," Rachman said at the Public Works Ministry on Friday, as quoted by Tempo.
In February, a conflict with residents emerged related to the airport’s construction.
At that time, nine members of the Saloloang Farmers’ Group from Pantai Lango subdistrict, Penajam district, North Penajam Paser regency, East Kalimantan, were arrested for allegedly obstructing the project.
The farmers protested the project as it has forced them off their fields and plantations.
The arrest occurred without a warrant, and the farmers were later accused of “withholding heavy equipment” and “sharp weapons”.
The police released the detainees after the acting North Penajam Paser regent requested a suspension of their detention.
