Airport type Civil/Military Elevation AMSL 7 ft / 2 m Province Riau Islands | Serves Ranai 18/36 2,560 Owner Government of Indonesia | |
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Operator Ministry of Transportation
Indonesian Air Force Location Natuna, Riau Islands, Indonesia Address Ranai Kota, Bunguran Timur, Ranai Kota, Natuna, Kabupaten Natuna, Kepulauan Riau 29783, Indonesia | ||
Jokowi inaugurates new ranai airport commercial terminal in natuna
Ranai Airport or Natuna Airport (IATA: NTX, ICAO: WION) is an airport located at Ranai, the capital city of Natuna Regency, on the Natuna archipelago in the South China Sea. The airport is also a Type B airbase of the Indonesian Air Force. Other than that, the airport also serves civilian flights.
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Due to the ongoing South China Sea dispute, the Indonesian government has decided to expand the airport to accommodate large military aircraft. Additional facilities, such as aircraft hangars, ILS, refueling hangar are also currently being added. More military personnel are also stationed. The government are also planning to lengthen the airport's runway from 2.560 m to 3.000 m to accommodate large military aircraft. This would act as a deterrent against foreign ships from entering Indonesian waters, such as China, which has claims on the water off Natuna Islands, claiming this region is inside of the so-called nine-dash line. The expansion of the airbase is also to prevent illegal foreign fishing boats from entering Indonesian waters. Many fishing boats from China, Vietnam, Malaysia have often entered Indonesian waters illegally.
A new passenger terminal was inaugurated on 6 October 2016. It was inaugurated by President Joko Widodo.
Facilities
The airport resides at an elevation of 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 18/36 with an asphalt surface measuring 2,560 m x 32 m (8,399 ft × 105 ft). The runway is planned to be widened to 45 m in the future. Moreover, the airport has an apron measuring 120 m x 60 m and a taxiway measuring 50 m x 32 m.
The recently-built terminal of the airport has an area of 3,868 m², several times larger than the old terminal which only has an area of 243 m². The new terminal can accommodate around 385 passengers daily. The parking lot which has been widened to 5.020 m² and can now cater around 154 cars dan 32 motorcycle. Other facilities inside the airport is the Aviation Accidents Rescue and Fire Fighting building, generator and the pump house.