Supadio International Airport

History

In the early 1960s, in preparation for Operation Dwikora—part of the Indonesia–Malaysia Confrontation, a military campaign aimed at opposing the formation of Malaysia—the airbase was upgraded due to its strategic significance and proximity to the Sarawak border. During the confrontation, the airbase served as a key base for operations against Commonwealth forces.

In the 1980s, the airport was renamed Supadio Airport in honor of Lieutenant Colonel Supadio, an Indonesian Air Force officer who had been stationed at the airbase. Supadio tragically died in an airplane crash alongside Colonel Nurtanio Pringgoadisurjo in Bandung in 1966.

International services began in the 1970s with flights to Kuching in neighboring Sarawak, operated by Merpati Nusantara Airlines. In the 1980s, flights to Singapore were introduced by both Garuda Indonesia and Merpati. In late October 1989, Malaysia Airlines began service between Kuching and Pontianak. These international routes were suspended in 1998 during the Asian Financial Crisis. However, flights to Kuching resumed in mid-1999, successively operated by Batavia Air, Kalstar Aviation, and Xpress Air, before Wings Air took over the route. In the early to mid-2010s, short-lived international routes included flights to Singapore (operated by Batavia Air) and Johor Bahru (operated by Xpress Air). AirAsia also launched flights to Kuala Lumpur in late March 2015, but these services were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the absence of active international routes, the Ministry of Transportation officially revoked the airport's international status on 2 April 2024. Following negotiations between the West Kalimantan provincial government and the Ministry of Transportation and popular demands from Pontianak people, the international status of the airport was reinstated on 4 June 2025.

Facilities and development

The airport previously faced overcapacity issues, as it could only accommodate 1.5 million passengers annually. In response, a new terminal was constructed between 2015 and 2017. With a capacity of 32,000 square meters, the new terminal is significantly larger than the old terminal, which was only 13,683 square meters and could accommodate 3.8 million passengers per year. The new terminal was constructed in two phases. Phase I involved the creation of a temporary terminal covering an area of 13,000 square meters (140,000 sq ft), with the capacity to accommodate over 1.5 million passengers annually. Phase I was completed in June 2015. Phase II included the demolition of the existing terminal building and the construction of a new terminal building, expanding upon the structure built in Phase I. The new terminal is equipped with 40 check-in counters, 4 conveyor belts, 7 lifts, 5 escalators, 42 CCTV cameras, and 39 Flight Information Display Systems (FIDS). The parking area was also expanded to accommodate 600 cars and 300 motorcycles. The terminal was completed in 2017 and was inaugurated by then-President Joko Widodo on 28 December 2017. A total of 350 billion Rupiah was invested in the construction of the new terminal.

In 2019, the runway was extended to 2,600 meters, up from the original 2,250 meters, to accommodate larger aircraft. Additionally, the number of jet bridges was increased from 4 to 7. Earlier, between 2010 and 2011, the runway had been widened from 30 meters to 45 meters. There are also plans to extend the runway to 3,000 meters in the future to accommodate wide-body aircraft and to anticipate the increasing air traffic in Pontianak. However, due to limited land availability for extending the existing runway, a proposal has been made to construct a new 3,000-meter by 60-meter runway parallel to the current one. Once completed, the existing runway would be converted into a parallel taxiway. An estimated 300 billion Rupiah will be invested in the construction of the new runway.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

|AirAsia| Kuala Lumpur–International, Kuching | Batik Air | Balikpapan, Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta | Batik Air Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur–International | Citilink | Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta, Surabaya | Garuda Indonesia | Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta | Lion Air | Batam, Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta, Medan, Surabaya | Pelita Air | Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta | Sriwijaya Air | Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta | Super Air Jet | Denpasar, Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta, Semarang, Surabaya, Yogyakarta–International | Wings Air | Ketapang, Putussibau, Sintang

Traffic and statistics

Traffic

Statistics

Accidents and incidents

• On 19 January 1973, Douglas C-47B PK-EHC of Trans Nusantara Airways crashed on landing and was destroyed in the subsequent fire. All four people on board escaped.
• On 22 November 2004, Sri Hardono, the captain of Garuda Indonesia flight 501, a Boeing 737-500 from Pontianak to Jakarta, was suddenly ill shortly after take-off. Hardono immediately asked permission to the air traffic control to return to the airport. Hardono died shortly after the emergency landing while still in the cockpit. Heart attack was the cause of illness and death. Due to the incident, the airport was temporarily closed for 40 minutes. There were no other injuries or fatalities in this incident.
• On 2 November 2010, Lion Air flight 712, operated by Boeing 737-400 PK-LIQ, overran the runway on landing, coming to rest on its belly. All 174 passengers and crew evacuated by the evacuation slides, with few injuries reported.
• On 1 June 2012, a Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-400 skidded off the runway in heavy rain. No injuries were reported, but the plane sustained damage beyond repair.

References

References

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