JAKARTA (Xinhua) – The Indonesian government completed the construction of the runway at the new capital Nusantara on Thursday, with Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi successfully conducting the first landing test.
“After undergoing various calibration processes and a series of flight safety tests, a Longitude jet owned by the Calibration Institute successfully landed on the Nusantara airport runway safely and perfectly,” Budi wrote on his social media account.
Captain Wirasono, one of the pilots operating the jet, assessed that the Nusantara airport infrastructure is ready for use. He flew the aircraft at a speed of 880 km/h, comparable to that of narrow-body aircraft like the Boeing 737 or Airbus A320.
Transportation Ministry spokesperson Adita Irawati added that the runway verification was carried out from Sept 8 to 9 and the calibration on Sept 10 to ensure flight safety and security.
The construction of the VVIP terminal at the airport has reached 90 per cent completion, and the VIP terminal is 80 per cent complete, while supporting facilities, including the Air Traffic Controller tower and administrative building, are still under development.
