REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Five hajj groups will embark for Saudi Arabia from the Kertajati International Airport, the newest air terminal built in Majalengka District, West Java, according to AirNav Indonesia. CEO of AirNav Indonesia, the air flight navigation service agency in Indonesia, Novie Riyanto said that the air traffic controller at Kertajati Airport is operational and ready to serve the hajj 2018 flights.

"It is confirmed that five hajj groups will embark from the Kertajati International Airport aboard Garuda Indonesia aircraft to Saudi Arabia," he remarked here on Wednesday.

However, Riyanto noted that AirNav is still awaiting a confirmation from the Ministry of Transportation on Kertajati Airport's status that will function as a feeder terminal to the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, instead of a direct embarkation point to Saudi Arabia.

Departure and arrival areas of West Java International Airport (BIJB), in Kertajati, Majalengka, on March 28.

"We are ready for any type of flights, while the slots can be adjusted," he noted.

Riyanto has not yet received any flight approval from the Ministry of Religious Affairs for the VIP passengers' list.

Also read: Kertajati airport to function as Hajj embarkation point

In a separate interview, Garuda Indonesia's CEO Pahala N Mansury confirmed that his aircraft will serve Hajj travelers from the Kertajati Airport this year.

President Joko Widodo has targeted that the Kertajati Airport can serve as a hajj embarkation point to Saudi Arabia this year, but according to the latest meeting with Coordinating Minister of Maritime Luhut Panjaitan, the airport has temporarily only qualified to serve as a feeder terminal to transit at the Soekarno Hatta Airport.

Built on a plot of land measuring 1,800 square hectares, the Kertajati Airport project, whose work began in 2011, is estimated to cost some Rp25.4 trillion. The international airport has a total capacity of 5.6 million passengers. Kertajati Airport will be officially opened on May 24.

Earlier, Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi had expressed optimism that the airport could serve homebound travelers to five major cities across the nation during the Eid al-Fitr season this year.

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