TEMPO.CO, Tangerang - Soekarno-Hatta International Airport has been named The World's Most Improved Airport 2017 at the World Airport Awards held by Skytrax.
Soekarno-Hatta Airport ranked above Hamad International Airport of Doha, Qatar. Ranked third to tenth on the list was Houston Airport, Delhi, Haikou Meilan, Guangzhou, Phoenix, Tokyo’s Narita, Paris' Charles de Gaulle and Los Angeles.
Soekarno-Hatta Airport's rank in the list of the World's Top 100 Airport has improved correspondingly from 63rd to 44th.
State-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II (AP II) president director Muhammad Awaluddin said that he was pleased with the award from Skytrax, a prominent aviation consultant.
"The award is for Indonesia, national aviation industry and all stakeholders who have helped support the improvements of Soekarno-Hatta Airport," Awaluddin stated in a written statement on Monday, March 15, 2017.
Awaludin said that the airport’s Terminal 3 was undeniably one of the reasons that led to Soekarno-Hatta Airport's success in winning the award from Skytrax. Starting its partial operations on August 9, 2016, Terminal 3 currently serves flag carrier Garuda Indonesia domestic flights only.
In April 2017, AP II will commence operations of another part of Terminal 3 for Garuda Indonesia's international flights. At the end of the year, the entire area of Terminal 3 is expected to operate fully to serve Garuda Indonesia domestic and international flights.
Once it fully operates, Terminal 3 will officially become the biggest and largest passenger terminal in Indonesia with a capacity of 25 million people, equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and technology systems.
As for 2017, Soekarno-Hatta International Airport is expected to welcome 60 million passengers.
JONIANSYAH HARDJONO
