T

hree regencies in East Java with pioneer airports will immediately launch inter-city pioneer flights within the province.

The airports are Blimbingsari in Banyuwangi, Bawean in Gresik and Trunojoyo in Sumenep. The pioneer routes are aimed at accelerating people movement from one regency to the other.

The routes will be designed for small, 14-seater aircraft. Passengers who wish to continue to Surabaya can travel on 70-seater airplanes, such as the ATR-72 operated by Wings Air and the MA-60 operated by Merpati Airways from Blimbingsari. The airport now serves both airlines on a regular basis, linking Banyuwangi with Surabaya’s Juanda International Airport.

Juanda has banned the direct flights of small aircraft as they are regarded as interrupting larger planes. At a minimum, aircraft should have a capacity of 70 passengers to be allowed to land at Juanda.

Acting head of the Banyuwangi Transportation Agency, Nur Agus Suharto, told The Jakarta Post recently that there had been talks, but detailed plans would be further discussed between the three regencies.

Trunojoyo Airport working unit head Dwi Ariyanto told reporters earlier that the airport would immediately open pioneer flight services while awaiting the completion of its runway project.

“We have discussed the plan with the regents of Sumenep, Gresik and Banyuwangi, together with the Banyuwangi Transportation Agency. The outcome has been positive and we only need to wait for its realization,” said Ariyanto.

The Sumenep regency administration has earmarked Rp 3.5 billion (US$360,560) from its 2013 budget to expand the runway at Trunojoyo from 1,160 meters to 1,360 meters, which requires a 3-hectare plot of land. The project commenced early this year.

The central government has also provided assistance by allocating Rp 33 billion from the 2013 state budget for the construction and expansion of Trunojoyo Airport.

The Banyuwangi administration has also carried out improvements. According to Agus, the Blimbingsari Airport runway will be lengthened to 2,250 meters by the end of 2014, thus enabling it to serve larger aircraft, such as the Boeing 737. The current runway length is only 1,900 meters.

The Banyuwangi administration has set aside Rp 1.4 billion from its budget to expand the airport apron to 4,800 square meters as well as to build a VIP terminal.

As Blimbingsari already connects Banyuwangi with Surabaya, the airport can link Juanda with smaller airports in the Sumenep and Gresik regencies.

Bawean Airport in Gresik was initially planned to be operational in March but has been pushed back to August due to unresolved land acquisition problems.

Bawean will have a 1,200-meter long runway, 900 meters of which has been built.

Chairman of the East Java chapter of the Indonesian Tourism Council Yusak Anshori, said Indonesia’s tourism assets were quite significant, but not fully tapped due to minimum infrastructure.

In East Java alone, he added, 700 tourist objects could be developed into tourist resorts.

Data from the World Economic Forum (WEF) shows that Indonesian tourism is ranked 74th out of 139 countries. In 2010, Indonesia was in 80th place, after Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Brunei Darussalam.