COMMERCIAL flights began taking off from Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East Jakarta today, with more flights scheduled to be transferred there in the near future.
Herry Bakti Gumay, director general for air transportation, told local media that Halim airport can serve 10 flights per hour or 126 per day. However, he said there would be no new routes offered. “The airport will only accommodate existing flights from Soekarno-Hatta (International Airport).”
For starters, Citilink Indonesia, Garuda Indonesia Group’s budget subsidiary, has moved the operations of four domestic routes (Jogjakarta, Semarang, Malang and Palembang) to the capital’s second airport.
Garuda itself will move an initial five routes over by end-February, while Indonesia AirAsia will move three services to the facility, said Evert Ernest Mangindaan, Indonesia’s minister of transportation. Lion Air Group is also looking to base some services in Halim airport.
Opened to commercial flights to ease the severe congestion at Soekarno-Hatta (TTG Asia e-Daily, November 20, 2013), Halim airport will continue to serve military, presidential and private or chartered airlines, and thus may be closed for VIP services.
However, congestion remains a potential concern given that there is only one way to access the airport from the city. The approximate 30km distance between the two airports will also be a problem for travellers with connecting flights in the other airport due to Jakarta’s notorious gridlock.
Herry said: “We will evaluate (the issues) as we move forward and we will work with the Jakarta city government to overcome the (traffic situation).”
