Photos: Design of New Yogyakarta International Airport

Yogyakarta, the cultural center of Java, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Indonesia. Its existing airport, the Adisucipto International airport serves passengers far beyond its designated capacity. 

And the government has decided to build a new airport in Kulonprogo, a regency in the far south of Yogyakarta, aimed to  accommodate 50 million passengers per year and expected to boost the tourism economy, trade and industry Yogyakarta. It will be completed in 2019 and fully operated beginning in 2020. 

The design of the new airport reflects the deep cultural influence of Yogyakarta, such as batik, its carving, paintings, and more. From above, the airport resemble the batik kawung motive, a popular batik pattern originates from this sultanate. 

In the first phase, state-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura I will build a 3,250 meter x 60 meter runway in the location. In the second phase, the length of the runway will be extended by 350 meters.  

The unique combination of ancient temples, history, traditions, culture, and the natural phenomenon make Yogyakarta worth to visit, and it has been dubbed as "the second Bali" in term of popularity in tourism sector. Indonesia is currently working hard to attract more and more tourist by adding more flights and airport capacities, to achieve its target of 20 million international tourists by 2019.