Jakarta’s Main Airport Dominates Aviation market in ASEAN

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesia’s biggest airport operator Angkasa Pura II (AP II) said that Soekarno-Hatta International Airport is still dominating the aviation market in the ASEAN region and is one of the busiest airports in the world.

President Director of AP II Muhammad Awaluddin said that the flight traffic at AP II airports, including Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Tangerang near Jakarta, was very high in December 2022.

"December 2022 recorded the highest flight traffic, driven by the improving conditions amid the pandemic and Christmas and New Year's holiday peak season," he said on Monday, Jan. 9.

Awaluddin noted that based on the report of OAG Aviation, a London-based air travel data provider, Soekarno-Hatta Airport was ranked first as the busiest airport in the ASEAN region after the airport recorded a capacity of 2.15 million flight seats in December 2022.

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Meanwhile, Flightsfrom.com, a provider of world airline route data and schedules, placed Soekarno-Hatta Airport as the ninth-busiest airport in the world, with scheduled flight departures reaching 579 every day.

"We are grateful that due to the support of all stakeholders, Soekarno-Hatta Airport can manage the high demand for air traffic well," he said.

During the January-December 2022 period, the passenger traffic at Soekarno-Hatta Airport reached 40.54 million, an increase of about 57 percent compared to the January-December 2021 period.

Last year, the five busiest domestic routes at Soekarno-Hatta Airport were from and to Denpasar, with 4.32 million passengers; Deli Serdang, 3.28 million passengers; Surabaya, 2.62 million passengers; Makassar, 2.55 million passengers; and Pontianak, 1.62 million passengers.

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Meanwhile, the five busiest international routes at Soekarno-Hatta Airport were from and to Singapore, 1.68 million passengers; Jeddah, 945,943 passengers; Kuala Lumpur, 863,772 passengers; Doha, 446,177 passengers; and Medina, 441,445 passengers.

According to the AP II president director, the recovery of flights at Soekarno-Hatta Airport occurred gradually and sustainably, supported by organizations and all stakeholders.

Cumulatively, throughout 2022, passenger traffic at AP II's 20 airports reached around 62 million passengers, an increase of 100 percent compared to 31 million passengers in 2021.

"AP II and stakeholders can manage the flight recovery at Sokarno-Hatta Airport well. Thus, the growth in air traffic could be sustainable and increased gradually until its peak in December 2022," he said.