If you’ve flown in or out of the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport lately, you wouldn’t have missed the gargantuan and futuristic looking new terminal, dubbed Terminal 3 Ultimate, which is currently under construction.
The good news for those who have wished for better facilities in an airport for a city of Jakarta’s stature is that Terminal 3 Ultimate is finally going to open its doors on June 20.
The airport’s management, PT Angkasa Pura II, have been working with national flagship carrier Garuda Indonesia to carry out simulation of passengers passing through the terminal.
“We have carried out several trials and the results are all good,” said PT Angkasa Pura II First Director Budi Karya Sumadi, as quoted by Tempo yesterday.
Budi added that the terminal’s facilities including check in counters, escalators and automated baggage handling system were found to be operating well during the simulation.
The terminal is set to accommodate passengers, particularly those flying Garuda Indonesia, during the busy lebaran holiday season in early July.
“It will take away the burden of passengers that used to be concentrated on Terminals 1 and 2,” Budi said.
Garuda Indonesia previously planned to move all of its operations to Terminal 3 Ultimate as soon as it opens, but there have been no reports since of other airlines planning to follow suit. The terminal, which is planned to be fully operational by the end of this year, will have the capacity to support 25 million passengers per year. By comparison, the current existing terminals 1, 2, and 3 only have the capacity to support 22 million passengers per year, which is way below the average of 60 million passengers passing through Soekarno Hatta each year.
