Runway 3 Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Thursday 15 August 2019, open for commercial flight for the first time. The NAM Air Boeing 737-500 aircraft with flight number IN 181 was the first commercial flight that land on the runway. Departing from Pontianak, IN181 flight landed at Soekarno-Hatta at 09.20 WIB. The flights piloted by Capt. Hendra Jusak Jacobus (Instructor) and First Officer Ferry Firmansyah carries four cabin crews and 118 passengers.
SVP PH of Corporate Secretary PT Angkasa Pura 2, Achmad Rifai, said that commercial aircraft are allowed to land on runway 3 because this runway already obtained certification from the Ministry of Transportation.
“Today is part of the history of the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. For the first time, commercial flight landed on runway 3, ” he said.
“For decades, Soekarno-Hatta Airport has operated with only two runways, and today we are grateful that the runway 3 project has been able to be used to support Soekarno-Hatta in accelerating economic growth and tourism in Indonesia,” Achmad Rifai explained.
The existence of runway 3 makes the flight capacity in Soekarno-Hatta increase to 114 flights per hour. Achmad Rifai said runway 3 currently operates with a length of 2,500 meters and could later be declared up to 3,000 meters.
The runway 3 project also received special attention from President Joko Widodo. During development, President Jokowi visited it twice.