Mataram's Lombok Int'l Airport Starts Operating

MATARAM, KOMPAS.com - Mataram’s new Lombok International Airport, located about 40 kilometers south of West Nusatenggara’s provincial capital, started operating on Saturday. .

A Garuda Indonesia Airways Boeing 737-800 JR was the first commercial aircraft that landed at the new facility at 10.08 local time on Saturday. The plane landed smoothly on the airport’s runway, witnessed by thousands of people lining the airport’s perimeters.

The plane was carrying 108 people consisting of a group of West Nusa Tenggara government officials including Governor TGH M Zainul Majdi, councilors, as well as ordinary West Nusatenggara residents. They had been previously transported to Jakarta in order to make the flight to Lombok International Airport on the day of its opening.

The arriving people were greeted with a traditional ceremony to mark the new airport’s official opening. In his speech on the occasion Governor Zainul Majdi said, with the opening of the Lombok international airport, the local people’s long wait had finally ended.

"This is the beginning of progress as well as proof that West Nusa Tenggara also can advance and if all parties work hard then nothing is impossible," he added.

Meanwhile, Central Lombok Dsitrict Chief Suhaili FT appreciated all those who had supported the development of the international airport. Suhaili expressed his commitment to ensure the security and stability of the airport’s operations.

"No more doubts about safety. We can assure you. It is a testament that all parties in theis region want progress. Hopefully it is beneficial for all of us," he said.

Lombok International Airport has an area of ??551 hectares and a runway of 2750 meters x 40 meters making it able to accommodate Air Bus 330s or Boeing 767s. The airport’s passenger handling capacity is three million a year and it has a parking area of ?17,500 square meters.