TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Kertajati not ready for direct haj flights
The government has confirmed that Kertajati International Airport in Majalengka, West Java, will not be serving direct flights for the haj pilgrimage this year as it still needs to improve its infrastructure
Change Size
T
he government has confirmed that Kertajati International Airport in Majalengka, West Java, will not be serving direct flights for the haj pilgrimage this year as it still needs to improve its infrastructure.
Last month, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said on his visit to the airport that it would be ready for pilgrimage flights after its soft launch on May 24.
However, the airport’s runway is not yet long enough to carry wide-bodied aircraft, which is mostly used for long-haul flights to Mecca. At present, the airport only has a 2,600 meter-long runway, while wide-bodied aircraft such as Boeing 777s and Airbus A330s need at least a 3,000 meter-long runway.
Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said for now, the airport would transport haj passengers from West Java’s cities to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport before passengers board direct flights to Saudi Arabia.
Budi promised that direct flights from Kertajati would be available next year as the government is to begin construction of the remaining 500-meter runway in July, with construction expected to take six months.
“It cannot yet accommodate a [Boeing] 777 but [it can accommodate the Airbus] A330 or others as an alternative,” Budi told reporters following a meeting at the Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister on Tuesday. “What matters most is that we will not violate rules related to safety.”
Kertajati Airport, located 200 kilometers east of Jakarta, is expected to serve some 25,000 haj pilgrims who will depart from the West Java regencies of Majalengka and Sumedang in August, the minister added.
Furthermore, Budi said, once the airport witnessed the first take off on May 24, it would be ready for the Idul Fitri exodus.
West Java Transportation Agency head Dedi Taufik said the airport would accommodate five round-trip destinations as a start, namely to Denpasar in Bali, Makassar in South Sulawesi, Balikpapan in East Kalimantan, Surabaya in East Java and Medan in North Sumatra.
“Garuda Indonesia and Sriwijaya Air have confirmed that it will operate the flights,” Dedi said on the same occasion.
Separately, PT Bandara Internasional Jawa Barat (BIJB), the West Java province-owned airport developer, said the exodus flights would commence on June 5. The tickets would be offered on the same day.
BIJB president director Virda Dimas said the operator had discussed the routes with the Transportation Ministry, adding that the flight frequency would be adjusted according to demand.
National carrier Garuda Indonesia operational director Triyanto Moeharsono, who was also present at the meeting, said the airline would have to increase its capacity to accommodate exodus fights from Kertajati, as the seat quota had not been planned earlier.
“We have not studied [the plans] as we are still trying to read demand. We would have no reason to serve the airport if we did not know how [many] passengers were interested in traveling through there,” Triyanto said.
For now, the airline is choosing to prioritize the preparation of haj flights from Kertajati, which is expected to begin in late in July, as it would be faced with a very tight schedule to prepare for Idul Fitri flights, he added.
Once the runway is completed, Garuda Indonesia also plans to serve direct routes for umrah (minor haj), which also require larger aircraft, as there is a lucrative market in West Java, he said.
