Several Airports in Java Suspend Domestic Services Due to Low Demand

Indonesia has seen several airports on Java island temporarily cease domestic operations after years of subdued performance, which experts attribute to poor planning and inadequate infrastructure.

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JAKARTA -

Kertajati International Airport in Majalengka, West Java, suspended all domestic routes on June 2. The airport now operates international flights to Singapore only, twice a week.

West Java administration spokesman Deny Hermawan explained that the suspension was due to limited fleet availability among the five airlines that previously served the airport: Lion Air, Super Air Jet, Citilink, AirAsia and Malaysia Airlines.

He added that these carriers had "prioritised serving routes with higher occupancy".

Opened in 2018, Kertajati is Indonesia's second-largest airport after Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten. However, unlike the bustling Soekarno-Hatta, Kertajati has seen declining passenger traffic, with the number of international passengers plummeting 81.1 per cent year on year in May, according to Statistics Indonesia.

The Transportation Ministry is considering reopening Husein Sastranegara Airport, which is located closer to Bandung, the provincial capital and its most populous city, due to ballooning operational costs of 60 billion rupiah (S$4.7 million) a year that the local government must bear to keep Kertajati running.

However, Transportation Minister Dudy Purwagandhi noted that reopening Husein airport would require further assessment of its potential impacts on Kertajati's operations.