Aviation Infrastructure Indonesia: Passenger Capacity Soekarno-Hatta Airport
Passenger capacity at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Indonesia's busiest airport located just outside Jakarta, is targeted to reach 61 million (per year) by the end of 2017, up 84 percent from a passenger capacity of 33 million passengers currently. Passenger capacity at the airport will rise strongly after the full completion of construction of Terminal 3 as well as the renovations at Terminals 1 and 2. Although Terminal 3 opened in August 2016 construction will continue into 2017 when full passenger capacity (25 million per year) is expected to be reached.
Djoko Murdjatmojo, General Director of Angkasa Pura II (state-owned airport operator of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport), stated that over the past couple of years passenger traffic has grown sharply at Soekarno-Hatta Airport (and at other airports in Indonesia) on the back of solid economic growth and rising per capita GDP. As a result Soekarno-Hatta is handling much more passengers than it was originally designed for, resulting in concerns about safety and operational efficiency. Whereas the airport was designed to handle 22 million passengers per year, passenger numbers have grown to between 50 and 60 million per year.
Air passenger traffic in the Asia-Pacific has grown rapidly over the past decade. This region is in fact the world's fastest growing air travel market due to the big populations, rising purchasing power, the arrival of many low-budget carriers (giving rise to competitive prices) and - especially in the case of Indonesia (a country consisting of thousands of islands) - air travel is the most efficient option.
Air traffic and passenger growth has been sharp in Indonesia. However, infrastructure development did not rise accordingly and therefore there have occurred various problems (this also applies to Indonesia's road and train network) primarily capacity-related troubles.
This year Angkasa Pura II will also focus on the land acquisition process for a third runway at Soekarno-Hatta Airport. If the land acquisition process can be completed this year, construction will start in 2017 and should be completed by 2018, just ahead of the 2018 Asian Games that is hosted by Indonesia. The funds to finance this project come from a capital injection from the central government.
Read more: Soekarno-Hatta International Airport's Terminal 3 Starts Operations
With passenger capacity expected to reach 61 million by the end of 2017, a third runway is definitely required at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. Meanwhile, another terminal - Terminal 4 - is expected to be constructed in the next couple of years on land that is currently being rented out to a golf club.
According to the latest data from Indonesia's Statistics Agency (BPS), Indonesia's air passengers totaled 53.9 million in the first seven months of 2016, up 15.6 percent (y/y) from the number of air passengers in the same period one year earlier.
Air Passengers in Indonesia:
| Jan-July 2016 |
Growth Y/Y |
|
| Air Passengers Indonesia |
53.9 | +15.6% |
| - Domestic (in millions) |
45.6 | +17.6% |
| - International (in millions) |
8.4 | +5.7% |
Source: Statistics Indonesia (BPS)
Air Passengers in Indonesia:
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | |
| Air Passengers (in millions) |
62.4 | 66.4 | 68.7 | 72.6 | 82.4 |
Source: Ministry of Transportation