The Transportation Ministry has approved plans for the Marinda Airport in Raja Ampat to become an international airport.
The approval came after West Papua governor met with Transportation
Minister Budi Karya Sumadi two weeks ago to propose a runway extension.
The plan was first initiated in 2015.
Raja Ampat Regent Abdul Faris Umlati has been wanting to extend the
runway from 1,200 meters to 2,500 meters that will allow larger planes
to land at Marinda.
The airport itself was officiated by the former Transportation
Minister E.E. Mangindaan on May 9, 2012. The airport currently has a
1,200m x 30m runway, one 80m x 60m airport apron and one terminal with a
total area of 120 meters.
The Marinda airport operates from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m., serving Susi
Air and Wings Air airlines. As the first airline to fly to Raja Ampat,
Susi Air uses a Cessna Grand Caravan. Susi Air used to only fly once a
week but it currently offers several flights to Raja Ampat.
Meanwhile Wings Air has been serving the Raja Ampat route since
January 2017. Using an ATR 72-600, the service travels to Manado – Raja
Ampat – Sorong – Monokwari once per day.
Beginning Oct. 21, Sriwijaya Air and NAM Air are going to open new
routes to Raja Ampat from Jakarta, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Semarang and
Makassar.
Other than air travel, tourists can also travel by sea to Raja Ampat,
departing from Sorong and using a speed boat, which takes around two
hours.
Source - TheJakartaPost
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