Soekarno–Hatta International Airport () , abbreviated SHIA or Soetta, formerly legally called Jakarta Cengkareng Airport () (hence the IATA designator "CGK"), is the primary airport serving the Jakarta metropolitan area on the island of Java in Indonesia. Named after the first president and vice-president of Indonesia, Sukarno (1901–1970) and Mohammad Hatta (1902–1980), the airport is located at Benda, Tangerang and Cengkareng, West Jakarta, which is about 20 km northwest of Central Jakarta. Together with Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport, they served over 80 million passengers in 2019.
The airport commenced domestic operations on 1 May 1985 replacing the old over-capacity Kemayoran Airport. The airport was expanded in 1991 to replace Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport for international flights, which still serves domestic charter, VIP, private flights, and re-opened as a second commercial airport for domestic flights to relieve pressure over Soekarno-Hatta airport that is currently running overcapacity. The airport served 66.9 million passengers in 2018, ranked as 18th busiest airport in the world by Airports Council International, and the busiest in Southeast Asia. In recent years, the airport has received numerous awards and recognitions.
To reduce congestion and to achieve a target to handle 100 flights per hour, a third runway opened in August 2019. Upgradation of the original two runways done for safety and to accommodate wide-bodied aircraft are almost comp. The airport will be able to serve 100 million passengers annually by 2025 after completion of ongoing development work.
History
Used between 1928 and 1985, Kemayoran Airfield was considered inadequate for further expansion because it was too close to the major Halim Perdanakusuma military airport. The civil airspace in the area became increasingly restricted, while air traffic increased rapidly, posing problems for international air traffic. In 1969, a senior communication officers meeting in Bangkok expressed these concerns.
In the early 1970s, with the help of USAID, eight potential locations were analyzed for a new international airport, namely Kemayoran, Malaka, Babakan, Jonggol, Halim, Curug, South Tangerang and North Tangerang. Finally, the North Tangerang site was chosen; it was also noted that Jonggol could be used as an alternative airfield. Meanwhile, as an interim step, the Indonesian government upgraded the Halim Perdanakusuma airfield for use for passenger services. The old Kemayoran site was closed in 1985, and the land was later used for commercial and housing purposes.
Between 1974 and 1975, a Canadian consortium, consisting of Aviation Planning Services Ltd., ACRESS International Ltd., and Searle Wilbee Rowland (SWR), won a bid for the new airport feasibility project. The feasibility study started on 20 February 1974, with a total cost of 1 million Canadian dollars. The one-year project proceeded with an Indonesian partner represented by PT Konavi. By the end of March 1975, the study revealed a plan to build three inline runways, three international terminal buildings, three domestic buildings, and one building for Hajj flights. Three stores for the domestic terminals would be built between 1975 and 1981 at a cost of US$465 million and one domestic terminal including an apron from 1982 to 1985 at a cost of US$126 million. A new terminal project, named the Jakarta International Airport Cengkareng, began.
Design
The airport's terminal 1 and 2 were designed by Paul Andreu, a French architect who also designed Paris–Charles de Gaulle Airport. One of the characteristics of the airport is the incorporation of the local architecture into the design and the presence of tropical gardens between the waiting lounges. These unique characteristics earned the airport the 1995 Aga Khan Award for Architecture. The runways run northeast–southwest. There are three parallel runways, two on the north side and one on the south side. The airport terminal took the plan of spanning fan, with the main entrances of terminals connected to a series of waiting and boarding pavilions via corridors. These waiting and boarding pavilions are connected to the airplanes through boarding bridges. Terminal 1 is on the southern side of the airport, while Terminal 2 and 3 are on the north side.