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THREE airports have officially regained their status as international airports as of April 2025. This decision is stated in the Minister of Transportation’s Regulation No. 26 of 2025, issued on April 25, 2025.
The three airports are Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Airport (SMB II) in South Sumatra, H.A.S. Hanandjoeddin Airport in Bangka Belitung, and General Ahmad Yani Airport in Central Java. Previously, Indonesia had 17 airports with international status. With the addition of these 3 airports, Indonesia now has 20 airports with international status.
Since last year, the government has reduced the number of international airports. Of the 35 airports with international status, only 17 have been retained, while 18 others have had their status revoked. International status is important to support direct connectivity to and from abroad for tourism, business and logistics purposes. Each airport with international status serves different routes, depending on the potential and needs of each region.
The determination of this status is based on national strategic considerations, namely to promote regional economic growth, expand access to investment, trade and tourism, and support the development of special economic zones. Including safety and security standards, the availability of customs, immigration and quarantine service units, and effective coordination through the Airport Facilitation Committee (FAL).
The Transportation Ministry also emphasized that if there are no international flights at the designated airport within 24 months, its status will be re-evaluated by the Directorate General of Air Transportation.
In addition, this decision also revokes the previous status of the two airports, namely S M Badaruddin II Airport and General Ahmad Yani Airport, which were previously only allowed to operate international flights for limited purposes such as umrah or trade.
Here is a complete list of 20 international airports in Indonesia:
(1). Sultan Iskandar Muda Airport (Aceh Besar, Aceh), (2). Kualanamu Airport (Deli Serdang, North Sumatra), (3). Minangkabau Airport (Padang Pariaman, West Sumatra), (4). Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport (Pekanbaru, Riau), (5). Hang Nadim Airport (Batam, Riau Islands), (6). Soekarno-Hatta Airport (Tangerang, Banten), (7). Halim Perdanakusuma Airport (East Jakarta, DKI Jakarta), (8). Kertajati Airport (Majalengka, West Java), (9). Kulonprogo Airport (Kulon Progo, Special Region of Yogyakarta), (10). Juanda Airport (Sidoarjo, East Java), (11). I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport (Badung, Bali), (12). Zainuddin Abdul Madjid Airport (Central Lombok, NTB), (13). Komodo Airport (Labuan Bajo, NTT), (14). Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Airport (Balikpapan, East Kalimantan), (15). Sultan Hasanuddin Airport (Maros, South Sulawesi), (16). Sam Ratulangi Airport (Manado, North Sulawesi), (17). Sentani Airport (Jayapura, Papua), (18). SMB II Palembang Airport (South Sumatra), (19). H.A.S Hanandjoeddin Airport (Bangka Belitung), (20). General Ahmad Yani Airport (Semarang, Central Java). [sources/photo special]
