The much anticipated new Terminal 3 at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport opened today, which is aimed at allowing the overcrowded aviation hub to handle tens of millions more passengers a year.
Air passenger numbers are soaring in Indonesia as a growing middle class increasingly chooses to fly, but ageing infrastructure is struggling to keep up.
The US$380 million terminal, a vast, futuristic-looking structure, will be able to handle about 25 million passengers a year once fully operational by March of next year.
The other three terminals at the country’s busiest airport are currently handling about 60 million passengers a year, way over their capacity.
The first flights, domestic services by flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, took off early this morning. The terminal will start off handling only domestic Garuda flights before later running international services.
Speaking at the terminal opening, Garuda chief executive Arif Wibowo hailed it as a “great milestone” that will help provide better service for customers.
Eman Suherman, an Indonesian passenger at the terminal, said he was “proud” of the terminal, adding: “It’s beyond our expectations.”
The terminal will eventually be connected to central Jakarta, about 30km away, by a rail link.
The terminal’s opening was delayed for more than a month after the government ordered alterations following the discovery that an important area was not visible from the air traffic control tower.
As well as ageing infrastructure, the Indonesian aviation sector faces problems with safety and has suffered a string of deadly crashes in recent years.
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