Kuala Namu International Airport
Polonia airport is the site of several crashes, is located in the center of the city of Medan, has a difficult takeoff path and has a short runway. The transfer to Kuala Namu Airport has been planned since 1991. In a visit to Medan, Azwar Anas, Minister of Transport at the time, said that for the safety of the flight, the airport will be moved out of the city.
All preparation of construction begins in 1997, but due to the Asian Financial Crisis that began in the same year and then force development plans postponed. Since then the news about the airport is rarely heard from again, until the Mandala Airlines Flight 091 crash in September 2005 that crashed shortly after taking off from Polonia. The accident that took the life of North Sumatra Governor Tengku Rizal Nurdin also caused ground casualties, as the airport is too close to residential areas, coupled with overcrowding, leading to renewed demands for a new airport.All 1,365 hectares land acquisitions have been done between 1995 to 1997 and has a certificate with Exploitation Right Number-1 on November 29, 1999 and a 100 percent belongs to PT Angkasa Pura II. Between end of 1999 and 2006 some illegal people used a part of the land as agriculture land and PT Angkasa Pura II has offered some money to them to move. Construction resumed on June 29, 2006, shortly before the 1st anniversary of the crash of Mandala Airlines Flight 091. Jusuf Kalla, vice President at the time, laid his 1st foundation stone. These marked the construction of Kuala Namu after several years with no progress. It was later predicted that the airport will completed by 2010. But because land acquisition was the biggest hurdle over this project, later on the airport was expected to be completed by 2013 due to lack of local government awareness.
The airport's 1st domestic departure was Garuda Indonesia flight GA 181 bound for Jakarta at 05:00 WIB. The 1st international departure was Indonesia AirAsia flight QZ 8078 bound for Penang at 05:15 WIB. The 1st domestic arrival was Lion Air flight JT 397 from Banda Aceh at 07:05 WIB. The 1st international arrival was Indonesia AirAsia flight QZ 8079 from Penang at 07:25 WIB. It began soft opening on July 25, 2013 and will officially inaugurated on September 19, 2013 by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The airport is Indonesia's 2nd largest, after Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, with a 224,298 mx passengers terminal and will eventually have a capacity of 50 million passengers, a figure if realised today would place the airport in the top 10 busiest by passenger numbers in the world, although by the time this figure is achieved it is likely that there will be many airports carrying more passengers.
It contains a 3,750 x 60 m runway, also another parallel taxi-way 3,750 m and 2,000 m that can accommodate wide-body aircraft, including the Airbus A380. It also includes an apron area measuring 664 mx capable of handling 33 aircraft. It also has a 13,000 mx cargo area that can handle 3 carriers with 65,000 tonnes/annum and 50,820 mx parking capacity with 405 taxis, 55 busses, and 908 cars. For more accessibility, the airport will have 10 door gates, another highway (non-toll road), toll road, and non-stop rail link to Medan.
It has been predicted all of the land will be cleared before end of 2012 when 'shadow operation' begins. The other problems are runway construction which has schedule to finish 18 months after the project started on January 2011, infrastructure building and power generator installment. The airport will cost at least $4,4 billion, using the August 2007 exchange rate.
The airport is the 1st in Indonesia with a publicly accessible check-in area. This means a much larger and more spacious check-in area than the existing airport. The airport is being designed by Wiratman & Associates, who also designed several other new airports and office buildings in Indonesia. Computer renderings showing a T-shape design are on the company's website. Another rendering and masterplan can be found in Angkasa Pura II website. Also a visualization of the future airport video.
At the end of May 2011, land construction for the runway was only 10 percent completed but was stopped due to local supplier difficulties to supply sand and landfill. The contractor proposed an excavation license through Deli Serdang regional development to avoid dependencies on local supplier. The runway construction might be finished after 2012, since the site was paddy field and swamp area.
At the end of November 2011, 70 percent of the airport site has been finished and was slated for completion by 2012 including a highway and a railway, with a tollroad to be completed afterwards.
In early 2013, overall progress has reached 95%. On January 10, 2013 the airport commenced technical and navigation system tests. The airport is slated to fully commence operations on July 25, 2013 to replace the 85-years-old Polonia Airport.
When the Kuala Namu International Airport became operational all the existing flight schedules at Medan's Polonia International Airport were moved across to the new airport.
Train services is provided by Railink, a joint venture between Angkasa Pura II and Indonesian Railway. It is planned to carry passengers to and from Medan 15 times a day per direction, with a capacity 172 passengers per trip. The trains and equipment are made in South Korea.
It is the 1st integrated airport rail link in Indonesia, city check-in and electronic tickets are also available for convenience.
Initially the airport train runs 10 trips a day in each direction with 1st trip from Medan Main Station beside the Merdeka Square at Balai Kota Street at 3:55 a.m. and the last trip from the airport at 00:15 a.m. It is the fastest way to reach the airport, taking about 37 to 45 minutes.
A state-owned bus company DAMRI operates services to the airport since the airport started operating. The DAMRI bus has only two bus shelters in Medan, on Gatot Subroto next to Plaza Medan Fair and at Amplas bus terminal. It needs about 60 to 90 minutes to reach the airport. The fare is cheaper than train ride to city.
| Taxi will cost you about taxi. | 2 train tickets fare per - |
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