I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport, Bali. AP I Doc

AirHelp Inc's survey listed three Indonesian airports and three airports in Indonesia on the list of the world's worst airports in 2023. The three are Syamsudin Noor International Airport in Banjarmasin, Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali and Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport in Jakarta.

Reacting to the report, Transport Minister (Menhub) Budi Karya Sumadi guaranteed that there would be improvements in the quality of these airports. However, on the other hand, he also requested that the improvement process should not come at the expense of PT Angkasa Pura I and Angkasa Pura II, which have now undergone a merger process to become PT Angkasa Pura Indonesia.

“We will definitely make (improvements), but everything is still happening gradually. Because AP’s health must also be taken into account. Don't take any action, but finances are bad,” said the Minister of Transport, Friday (29/29/2023) at the Sarinah Building in Jakarta /12/2023).

As someone who has had the misfortune of leading BUMD and BUMN, including as president and director of Angkasa Pura II, the transport minister does not want the process of improving an airport to affect the company's finances.

“I am a conservative person. The most important thing is to use the money efficiently. The most important thing is that safety and security are maintained. This is not good. So when you say the worst, it's not necessarily bad. Physically it's bad,” he stressed.

In addition, he acknowledged that the Ministry of Transport has not shirked its duties in beautifying airports in remote areas of Indonesia. He then mentioned a number of airports in the area where the beautification process has been carried out.

“Fakfak Airport is very modern and could be an example. Mentawai, very good. But there are stages and we give AP the opportunity to pause everything,” said the transport minister.