Halim Perdanakusuma Airport located in East Jakarta will be closed from 1st January 2022 for renovations.
This was announced by the Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Air Force, Air Marshal Fadjar Prasetyo.
“Halim Airport will be closed starting 1st January by order of the president,” said Fadjar on Wednesday 22nd December 2021.
He also revealed that the reason the airport needs refurbishment is that the condition of the airport is already very concerning, especially the runway. He went on to say that President Jokowi had personally felt the roughness of the runway surface at Halim Perdanakusuma.
“Maybe you who boarded the plane from Halim felt the difference. Therefore, he ordered revitalization,” said Fadjar.
Fadjar also said that the Halim runway is very old. Even the land around the airport seems to have decreased in level.
“Maybe there is some kind of groundwater and so on, but as a result, the runway has approached the safe threshold,” said Fadjar.
According to the website of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation at the Transportation Ministry, Halim airport has a runway of 3,000 x 45 meters or about 135,000 square meters, with a taxiway of 150 x 30 meters or 4,500 square meters.
Meanwhile, the aircraft parking area at Halim Perdanakusuma is 469.5 x 135 meters, covering 63,382.5 square meters. This airport is capable of accommodating seven jumbo jets or B-747s.
The passenger terminal area at this airport reaches 5,548 square meters. Two other airports located close to Halim are Soekarno-Hatta Airport which is 30.59km away and Budiarto Airport which is 36.03km away.
Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi also highlighted the apprehensive condition of Halim airport.
“There is indeed an initiative to revitalize the airport because safety there is very worrying, especially the runway has 30-40 percent problems,” said Budi on 16th November 2021.
Another problem that occurs at Halim Airport is the flood conditions that threaten the safety of the airport.