Two Airports in Riau Islands to Serve International Flights

TheIndonesia.co - Hang Nadim airport in Batam and Raja Haji Fisabilillah airport in Tanjungpinang will soon serve international flights, an official at local government has revealed.

Head of Riau Islands’ tourism office Buralimar said the two airports are planned to welcome international tourists to the province, and the provincial government will collaborate with association on its operations and mechanism.

“We’ll hand it over to association that will bring the flights, as it has agreement with South Korea, Taiwan, and China. We’ll only act as a backup,” Buralimar said on Wednesday, April 27, as reported by Antara.

He said in the previous years, chartered flights were already able to land at the two international airports in Riau Islands.

The local official added that tourism industry will massively grow if the plan to open the airports to international flights is realized, especially since it has been impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak.

“The impact is also positive for the Riau Islands province, so we’re totally behind it,” Buralimar stated.

Meanwhile, the head of Batam Indonesia Free Zone Authority (BP Batam) Muhammad Rudi said the airports will start serving international flights when the mandatory COVID-19 tests are waived.

“If it’s still applicable, I think international tourists will stay reluctant to come here,” Rudi said.

BP Batam has also agreed on cooperation between airport operator PT Angkasa Pura I-PT Wijaya Karya and South Korea’s Incheon International Airport on the management of Hang Nadim airport.

“So [international flights] will eventually come because the agreement states that they have to prepare direct flights to Batam,” Rudi revealed.