TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) has set a goal for Indonesia's airports to be among the top 10 best airports in the world. The minister hopes to achieve the target in 2029, as he said during the Airport Service Optimization Coordination Meeting in Badung Regency, Bali, on Thursday, Jan. 23.

"Number one now is Doha, Qatar, it is indeed good, so this is not a lie, Changi is number two, it is good, so this list is not made up, only after that Incheon, Narita, Paris, Dubai, Zurich, Istanbul, Indonesia should be able to enter here, we are pursuing trying to be in the top 10 by 2029," said AHY, as reported by Antara.

He estimated that if Istanbul Airport, Turkey, entered the top 10 according to SkyTrax 2024, then Indonesia could achieve the same position. The minister explained that currently, Soekarno-Hatta Airport is ranked 28th in the world, up 15 positions from 2023, and Bali's I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport is ranked 74th or up six positions.

AHY revealed that he recently had a dialog with ambassadors from several countries and discussed the possibility of opening direct landings in Cengkareng or Bali. He recently met with the British Ambassador to discuss cooperation between the two countries. The minister also encouraged England to open direct flights not only on the London-Jakarta route but also to Bali via I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport.

"You can have the enthusiasm to break into the top 10, which means that if you are serious and work hard, you can pursue a higher ranking. Because like world-class airports in various advanced countries, they also started from zero of improvements and refinements, we must not lose our efforts," said AHY.

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