Jakarta, IO – The government officially diverted all scheduled commercial flights from Bandung’s Husein Sastranegara Airport to West Java International Airport (BIJB) Kertajati in Majalengka, Sunday (29/10).
Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said the decision is based on the safety consideration concerning the Husein Sastranegara Airport runway, per Katadata Monday (30/10).
According to him, the airport’s runway is short and its geographical location is in a basin. “While we need a 3,000 meter runway, there is only 2,200 meters there,” said Budi.
Due to these conditions, wide-body aircrafts cannot land in Husein Sastranegara Airport. Budi hopes that this diversion can enable international flights such as those from Saudi Arabia, Europe to the United States to land directly in West Java.
He also estimates that the number of passengers at Kertajati Airport will increase soon. According to him, this will shorten the distance from various areas of West Java such as Bandung, Cirebon to Sumedang.
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“To Jakarta (Soekarno-Hatta Airport) it can take 4 to 5 hours, from here (Kertajati) it can take one hour,” said Budi.
The occasion is marked by the first flight to Ngurah Rai Airport, Bali. Kertajati Airport will serve seven domestic routes by three airlines. Other than to Bali, there will be also flights to Balikpapan, Batam, Banjarmasin, Makassar, Medan and Palembang. (un)