Jakarta Airport Is Among the Least Punctual in the World

Jakarta,MINA — Indonesia is home to at least 76 airports that are tasked to connect international travelers to the country as well as its population of more than 261.1 million people, Asian Correspondent reported.

However, for a destination that is widely regarded as an emerging market for air travel in the region, thanks to the boom of low-cost carriers in the recent years, its main airport isn’t performing so well.

Indonesia is the largest archipelagic country in the world with thousands of islands throughout the area. And aviation in Indonesia serves as a critical means of connecting the world to these islands.

As of 2017, Indonesia has 61 scheduled and unscheduled commercial airlines. The country is ranked as having the second-fastest growing aviation industry in the world after China in terms of aircraft order and business value, according to GBG Indonesia.

However, a report released by UK-based air travel intelligence company OAG has highlighted that Indonesia’s main and busiest airport, Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, is among the world’s least punctual as compared to 513 airports across the world between June 2017 and May 2018.

In fact, it’s the worst performing airport in all of Southeast Asia except for Ninoy Aquino International Airport in the Philippines.

OAG ranked Jakarta’s Soekarno–Hatta International Airport with an annual on-time performance (OTP) of 58.5 percent. The OTP is measured by departures and arrivals that take place strictly less than 15 minutes after scheduled departure/arrival time, including cancellations.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has predicted that Indonesia will become the world’s fourth largest air travel market by 2036. Around 355 million passengers are predicted to fly from and within Indonesia by 2034

To prepare for the boost in the number of passengers, the Indonesian government has expanded many airports across the country to receive an influx of domestic and international flights.

As for Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II (AP II) has built a new terminal (Terminal 3) to accommodate passengers and are in the process of building a third runway to accommodate large planes such as Boeing 777s.

The construction, which began in March, will take place over 16 months.

Meanwhile, the airport’s Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 will also be expanded to accommodate 36 million passengers a year. (T/RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)