Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport

Pembuka

Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport is an international airport serving Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The airport is located on the border between Makassar and Maros, a suburb in South Sulawesi, approximately 20 km (12 mi) or 15 minutes from Makassar city center via the freeway/tollway, and about 23 km (14 mi) or 20 minutes via the highway. Named after Sultan Hasanuddin (1631–1670), the Sultan of Gowa and a national hero of Indonesia who resisted the Dutch East India Company in the 1660s, the airport serves as the main gateway to eastern Indonesia and is a major aviation hub in the region. It is the largest airport in eastern Indonesia and one of only three international airports in Sulawesi. The airport serves as a key hub connecting western and eastern Indonesia, offering domestic flights to major cities in western Indonesia such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar, and Balikpapan, as well as destinations in eastern Indonesia, including Ambon, Ternate, Sorong, and Jayapura. It also provides international connections to destinations such as Singapore and Malaysia. Additionally, the airport is one of the primary embarkation points for Hajj pilgrims from eastern Indonesia, with seasonal flights to Jeddah and Medina.

In addition to serving as a commercial airport, Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport also hosts the Sultan Hasanuddin Air Force Base, a Type-A facility operated by the Indonesian Air Force. It is one of the largest air force bases in eastern Indonesia and is home to four Air Force squadrons: the 5th Reconnaissance Squadron, which operates Boeing 737-200 and CN 235-220 aircraft; the 11th Combat Squadron, equipped with Sukhoi Su-27 and Su-30 fighter jets; the 33rd Transport Squadron, which flies Lockheed C-130H Hercules aircraft; and the 044th Engineering Squadron.

Colonial era

Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport was first built by the Dutch colonial government in 1935 and was originally known as Kadieng Airfield. After approximately two years of construction, the Dutch government officially opened the airport on 27 September 1937, marked by a commercial flight connecting Singapore using a Douglas DC-2 aircraft operated by the Koninklijke Nederlands Indische Luchtvaart Maatschappij (KNILM). At the time of its inauguration, the airfield had only a single grass runway measuring 1,600 × 45 meters.

The airfield was considered strategically important by the Japanese during the opening phase of the Pacific Theater of World War II, as it enabled them to launch air offensives against targets in Java. Around midnight on 8–9 February 1942, Japanese troops landed in Makassar. Realizing the hopelessness of the situation, the Dutch commander in Sulawesi, Colonel M. Vooren, based his defensive strategy on the Malayan campaign. His objective was to inflict the greatest possible losses on the enemy while delaying their advance for as long as possible. To achieve this, he abandoned the conventional doctrine of direct coastal defence in favour of an indirect defensive strategy: slowing the enemy advance to facilitate the planned destruction of Mandai Airfield, before making a final stand at the Tjamba position in the mountainous interior. The entire plan was purely defensive. The city and the destroyed airfield were occupied by Japanese forces around noon on 9 February 1942. The Japanese later rebuilt the airfield during their occupation from 1942 to 1945, including upgrading its grass runway to a concrete surface. The rehabilitation work involved Allied prisoners of war, who were subjected to harsh treatment by their captors. Some Allied prisoners were executed by Japanese forces throughout the occupation, continuing until the end of the war. During this period, the airfield was renamed Mandai Airfield. Throughout the war, the airfield was repeatedly targeted by Allied air raids. By the end of the war, the airfield was in poor condition due to Allied bombing, with the runway heavily cratered. It was subsequently repaired by Australian and Indian engineers, after which Allied forces extended the runway to 1,745 × 45 meters. The construction involved approximately 4,000 workers, including former Japanese prisoners of war.

With the end of the war, the airfield was handed over to the returning Dutch authorities. It was subsequently used as an airbase by the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force (ML-KNIL) during the Indonesian National Revolution until 1950. During the Makassar Uprising in April 1950, negotiations were held at the airfield between Martinus Putuhena, Prime Minister of the State of East Indonesia; Colonel Alex Kawilarang of the Indonesian Army; and Major General Schaffelaar of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL), in an effort to end the uprising by disgruntled former KNIL soldiers.

Post-independence era

Following the Dutch recognition of Indonesia's sovereignty, Dutch forces withdrew from Makassar, and control of the airfield was transferred from the ML-KNIL to the Indonesian Air Force on 2 June 1950. Its operation and maintenance were initially jointly managed by the Indonesian Air Force and the Airfield Division of the Department of Public Work. During this period, the airport became one of the busiest in the country, serving as a vital link between western and eastern Indonesia. In 1955, the airport's management was transferred to the Civil Aviation Service, now known as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. The runway was subsequently extended to 2,345 × 45 meters. The airfield was bombed on 13 April 1958 by U.S.-supplied Douglas A-26 Invader aircraft operated by the Permesta Air Force (AUREV), based in North Sulawesi, during the height of the Permesta rebellion.

In 1962, an assassination attempt on President Sukarno, who was visiting Makassar, was carried out at the airfield by the Darul Islam movement led by Abdul Kahar Muzakkar. Mortars were fired at his motorcade as it exited Mandai Airfield; fortunately, the rounds missed by a considerable margin.

In 1980, the airport was renamed to its present name in honor of Sultan Hasanuddin, the 17th-century ruler of the Gowa Sultanate who famously resisted Dutch colonial forces in South Sulawesi. The renaming coincided with a runway extension from 1,745 × 45 meters to 2,400 × 45 meters. The following year, the airport began serving as a Hajj embarkation point, operating regular flights on the Makassar–Jeddah route to accommodate pilgrims traveling to Mecca. Sultan Hasanuddin Airport experienced a significant rise in passenger traffic and international arrivals after the issuance of Minister of Transportation Decree No. KM 61/1994 on 30 October 1994, which officially granted it international status. The airport's first regular international route was inaugurated on 28 March 1995 with the launch of the Makassar–Kuala Lumpur service by Malaysia Airlines, followed soon after by SilkAir’s route to Singapore. However, between 28 October 2006 and mid-2008, all international routes to Makassar were temporarily suspended after Garuda Indonesia closed the Makassar–Singapore route due to substantial financial losses. This decision mirrored the earlier moves by Malaysia Airlines and SilkAir, both of which had also discontinued their services to Makassar. International service resumed shortly afterwards.

Following the opening of the new terminal in 2008, located 2 km from the old terminal, the latter was closed to the public and repurposed for use by the Indonesian Air Force. On 15 August 2016, the old terminal building was destroyed in a major fire.

This airport has earned recognition as one of the top three airports in Indonesia, winning awards in 2011 for excellence in service and having the cleanest toilets. In 2012, it received the highest honor from the Ministry of Transportation, winning the Airport Award as the best airport.