PHOTOS : Terminal 3 - Soekarno-Hatta Int'l Airport

On May 1st, Indonesia's flag carrier Garuda Indonesia moved its international operations to Terminal 3 of Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, from T2 previously.  It was marked by the departure of Kuala Lumpur-bound flight GA820 and the arrival of GA823 from Singapore. 

Garuda Indonesia has moved its domestic operations to Terminal 3 in August 2016, becoming the first airline to operate from Terminal 3. Other Skyteam alliance members will follow after Idul Fitri festive, which falls in July this year. In addition to Garuda, other airlines part of the Skyteam alliance are Aeroflot, Aerolineas Argentinas, Aeromexico, Air Europa, Air France, Alitalia, China Airlines, Eastern China, China Southern, Czech Airlines, Delta Airlines, Kenya Airways, KLM, Korean Air, MEA, Saudia, Tarom, Vietnam Airlines, and Xiamen Air.

The new president and CEO is optimistic that Terminal 3 International will not only be a move to improve infrastructure and transportation service with global competitive advantage but also a milestone for the development of tourism in Indonesia. 

Garuda will in stages operate 26 check-in counters and increase its executive lounge capacity to 350 seats for business class and 56 seats for first class passengers, which is twice the current capacity at Terminal 2.

The airline will operate 36 self check-in outlets and 10 boarding gates by July.  

T3's opening has helped Soekarno-Hatta airport win a World's Most Improved Airports 2017 mention from Skytrack, a UK-based consultancy firm that runs an airline and airport review and ranking site.  

The new terminal offers more than 45,000 square meters of commercial area and a walkthrough layout that allows passengers to window shop effectively.

Terminal 3 will be connected to the other terminals at the airport by Skytrain, which will allow passengers to switch terminals easily.