10 West Papua Airports That Plays Important Roles in Tourism and Economy

Image by Tobias Rehbein from Pixabay

West Papua is in the farthest eastern part of Indonesia. Due to its shape, this province's island is famous as the "Bird Head Peninsula." The province has been going through development and modernization through the years. One of the most notable changes is in the construction of the airports. Here are 10 airports that play a significant role in the betterment of the province.

Fakfak Torea Airport

Bandara Sentani di Jayapura, Papua. Foto: Shutterstock

Located in the district of Fakfak, Torea Airport is strategically located, cutting short the distance between West Papua and Ambon city, closer than any other city in Papua. Since Fakfak has huge development industry plans in the next few years, this airport is expected to support economic activities.

Kaimana Utarom Airport

Kaimana Utarom Airport is originally a small airport that serves the transportation activities in Kaimana District. Through the years, this airport sees increasing passenger numbers, pushing it to be heavily modernized. The renovation started in 2012 and was completed by the end of 2015. During peak hours, the airport manages to accommodate up to 102 passengers.

Rendani Airport

It is one of the biggest airports, located in Manokwari, the capital of West Papua province. Rendani Airport serves flights to and from many big cities in Indonesia, such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Makassar, and other provinces, including Jayapura, Kaimana, Sorong, and Nabire.

Marinda Airport

Marinda Airport is also famous as Raja Ampat Airport. As the name suggests, this is an airport in a renowned tourism destination. Despite being one of the busiest airports in the province, Marinda only serves local flights from Sorong. Everyone who visits Raja Ampat lands at this airport.

Domine Eduard Osok Airport

Domine Eduard Osok has become one of the largest and busiest airports in the Birds Head's Peninsula. The name was given in honor to a pastor from Sorong, famous for spreading Christianity in Sorong and its surrounding. It also serves as one of the many entry points of Raja Ampat since it is geographically closer to Sorong than the province's capital of Manokwari.

Ayawasi Airport

Ayawasi Airport is a pioneering airport in the city of Ayawasi, West Papua. This small airport serves flights only to Sorong and Manokwari. Initially, Ayawasi Airport was built for a Catholic mission and to distribute resin gum in 1956. Since 2013, Ayawasi Airport has become one of the public airports for local flights.

Merdey Airport

Bintuni Bay may be one of the biggest districts in the province, but Merdey Airport is just a small airport. However, Bintuni Bay is also a popular tourist destination due to its wonderful and magnificent landscape. The airport only serves local flights from its closest surrounding cities.

Kambuaya Airport

Kambuaya Airport is located in Maybrat District of West Papua. This airport was built not only for tourism purposes but mainly for transportation. Kambuaya serves as the gate for trading and traveling from and to Maybrat. It is also vital to connect Maybrat to other cities and districts in the province, especially those who live in the hinterland.

Babo Airport

Babo Airport is located in Babo District of Bintuni Bay, West Papua. It takes 1 hour and 15 minutes from Sorong with a small airplane of 12 passengers capacity. This airport serves as a gateway to other regions in Bintuni Bay, such as the LNG Tangguh, a national project in the area.

Kabare Airport

Kabare Airport is a small airport that is constantly undergoing reconstruction and development to reach isolated areas. Through this airport, people in small cities will travel to big cities such as Sorong and Manokwari.