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Silangit airport welcomes first international flight from Singapore
“The President’s message is clear, Lake Toba development also needs to prioritize the local wisdom. Both the governor and regent should keep the unity and the locals should help and support each other,” said Luhut.
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Coordinating Maritime Minister Luhut Pandjaitan arrives in Silangit Airport in North Sumatra in a private jet from Singapore, on Sept. 9. (Coordinating Maritime Minister/Coordinating Maritime Minister)
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itilink made history during the Youth Pledge Day on Oct. 28 by launching its maiden flight to Silangit International Airport in North Tapanuli, North Sumatra, from Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport in Jakarta.
The Citilink plane arrived after the arrival of Garuda Indonesia flight from Singapore. Using an Explore Jet Bombardier CRJ-100 aircraft, the flight departed from Singapore at 12:55 p.m. and arrived at 1:10 p.m.
The flight from Garuda Indonesia is the first international flight to land on the airport.
Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan together with Tourism Minister Arief Yahya attended the launching ceremony of the airport as an international airport.
Passengers from Singapore were welcomed with Tortor traditional dance and given an ulos from Luhut and Arief.
In his speech, Luhut said the flight would make it easier for foreign tourists to travel to Lake Toba.
“The flight from Singapore only takes 50 minutes,” said Luhut.
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“The President’s message is clear, Lake Toba development also needs to prioritize the local wisdom. Both the governor and regent should keep the unity and the locals should help and support each other,” said Luhut.
Meanwhile, Arief said that many people wouldn’t believe that Lake Toba could have an international airport.
“Now both tourists and locals can enjoy a direct flight between Singapore and Silangit that only takes about 55 minutes,” said Arief.
Lake Toba is one the Tourism Ministry’s 10 Priority Destinations that is targeted to welcome one million foreign tourists in 2019.
The appointment of Silangit Airport as an international airport was conducted on Sept. 8. State-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura II and AirNav Indonesia were the two parties in charge of improving the airport.
Currently the length of its runway is 2650 x 30 meters, meanwhile its PCN (Pavement Classification Number) is valued at 40 and will be increased to 52 in March next year.
By the end of 2017, the runway’s width will be 45 meters, “So that it can accommodate narrow-body airplanes like Airbus A320 and Boeing 737-800,” added Arief.
The airport is facilitated with CIQ (Custom, Immigration, Quarantine), customs area, quarantine area and immigration checkpoint.
Silangit International Airport also boasts free Wi-Fi, flight information display systems, e-payment, bus ticketing, vending machines, e-kiosk for tourism-related information, self check-in and other digital features. (kes)
