Sindonews.com JAKARTA - West Java International Airport Manager Kertajati hopes that the construction of the Cileunyi-Sumedang-Dawuan toll road can be completed on time in 2021. Before completion, Kertajati Airport will focus on developing it as a cargo airport.

Apart from that, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic caused sluggish flights at all existing international airports. Lack of passengers and sluggish flights also experienced by Kertajati Airport.

"So what we are currently doing is preparing BIJB as a Cargo Village going forward in the next two to three years, of course while waiting for the completion of the Cisumdawu Toll Road," said Managing Director of West Java International Airport Kertajati Salahuddin Rafi when contacted in Jakarta on Wednesday (15 September) / 7/2020).

However, Rafi added, he continued to operate based on existing conditions. Kertajati Airport, he stressed, continued to serve passengers, including charter aircraft and international flights. He is optimistic that BIJB will be in demand by the people of West Java when the Covid-19 pandemic is over.

Regarding Cisumdawu Toll access, the slow completion of the toll road connecting Kertajati and Bandung is allegedly still entangled in land constraints. Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Basuki Hadimoeljono said, there were still a number of problems related to the land acquisition of the 60 kilometer Cisumdawu toll road.

"There is still land acquisition that has not yet been completed. The obstacle is not only land acquisition but it involves regulations," Basuki said recently.

The PUPR Ministry is targeting this toll road to be completed by September 2021. Ideally, the Cisumdawu toll road is finished so the travel time from Bandung to Kertajati Airport only takes 45 minutes to one hour. However, currently taking the conventional route through South Sumedang takes up to two and a half hours.

Aviation observer Gatot Rahardjo said BIJB Kertajati would not be able to operate optimally without accessing the toll road. "Now the airport is temporarily a parking lot because many aprons are empty. The temporary solution is to prepare yourself for cargo and internationally. If the cargo can be transported at any time," he said.

He added, if BIJB Kertajati was still left for domestic transportation, then this airport could die. "People will still choose from Bandung or Jakarta altogether. Airlines also definitely prefer flights using ATR in Bandung, Husen Sastranegara, because BIJB Kertajati is quiet," he concluded.