With the arrival of flight IN181 from Pontianak on Thursday, 15th August 2019, the new Runway 3 at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport officially welcomed its first commercial aircraft arrival. The new and expanded facility is expected to dramatically improve connectivity and can increase flight capacity the main gateway into Indonesia. The Runway 3 project forms part of a wider plan for economic growth and tourism expansion in Indonesia.
The arrival of the flight, operated by NAM Air, was witnessed by Indonesia’s Minister of Transportation, Budi Karya Sumadi. He has described the inaugural flight and subsequent opening of the runway as his department’s 74th birthday gift to the Republic of Indonesia, just in time for the nation’s Independence Day celebrations on 17th August.
The new runway is 2,500 metres in length, although this is set to be extended up to a total of 3,000 metres. With Runway 3 now open, Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta airport will be able to handle up to 114 flights per hour.
