However, uncertainties of its future and a matter of profitability may stand in the way for airlines to fully capitalize on the opportunity.

There are two locations airlines can bring their passengers to the new capital city: Balikpapan’s Sepinggan International Airport or Samarinda’s APT Pranoto International Airport, through which airlines could secure the future traffic of IKN.

Balikpapan is around 50 kilometers closer to IKN than Samarinda, which has only been opened since 2018, while the former has been operational since the 1990s.

National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia is one of the airlines that has regular flights from and to Balikpapan for some time, while it is yet to open flights to Samarinda.

Garuda Indonesia CEO Irfan Setiaputra told The Jakarta Post on Monday that Garuda “is still planning” for flights to Samarinda and “total passenger” is the biggest challenge to bank on IKN connectivity.

Irfan said Garuda was ready to support connectivity in the new capital, but lack of incentives from the government may hinder the airline from fully realizing its role.

Similarly, AirAsia Indonesia CEO Veranita Yosephine told the Post on Monday the airline had opened a new route of Balikpapan-Kuala Lumpur twice a week since March 8 this year.

“Samarinda is one city that will become our long-term target. As of now we are not operating regularly in that city,” said Veranita.

Veranita said AirAsia was ready to support IKN connectivity but arranging route networks and scheduling would be the biggest challenge to the program.

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Alternatively, the government said it would construct a new airport for IKN that is set to be completed in 2024. The airport is projected to have 3,000-meter-long runways, potentially making it to be the longest in Kalimantan, allowing it to serve jumbo jets like the Boeing 777.

However, materialization of the plan is still uncertain up until now.

“No one knows yet what requirements airlines must fulfill to be able to use the new airport,” state-owned Bank Mandiri analyst Haris Eko Faruddin told the Post on Thursday.

It is rumored that the airport is not designated for commercial flight, but for government use only, adding more challenges for airlines to actually support the connectivity for the project.

“So, the challenges lie on flight restrictions because [IKN] is a capital special area,” said Haris.

Meanwhile, Transportation Ministry data shows Balikpapan and Samarinda have been consistently seeing less flights and routes over the past five years despite the plan to build a new capital city having been voiced by the government before the pandemic.

In 2022, flight routes serving Balikpapan and Samarinda saw a 14 percent and 50 percent drop, respectively, compared with 2019, while flight frequencies serving both cities dropped 7 percent and 45 percent, respectively, for the same period.

Transportation Ministry’s Civil Aviation Director General Maria Kristi Endah Murni told the Post on Thursday the drop was mainly caused by COVID-19 pandemic, but the ministry assured it would soon make a return to its previous heights, arguing the aviation industry is on track to recover toward pre-pandemic levels.

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Some airlines have recently opened routes to start serving flights to Balikpapan.

PT Pelita Air Service, a subsidiary of state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina, said on Monday it had opened a new regular route between Jakarta and Balikpapan, marking the airline’s fourth regular flight since it expanded to commercial flights in April 2022.

“[The opening of this new route] answers people’s needs of increasing activity to Balikpapan related to the government's plan of realizing IKN in East Kalimantan,” Pelita Air CEO Dendy Kurniawan said in a statement on Monday.

Prior to Pelita, Lion Group’s affiliated Super Air Jet said on March 3 it would open flights between Manado in North Sulawesi and Balikpapan beginning in April this year, while also citing the potential of IKN as one of the reasons.

Maria said the government had yet to decide whether it would provide a specific incentive for airlines willing to serve connectivity in the new capital city.

However, the government would ensure connectivity in the area surrounding the project to support air travel to the new capital city.

“The government offers additional flight frequencies and routes to airlines according to the demand in the area,” Maria said.