Polonia International Airport
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| Polonia International Airport Bandar Udara Internasional Polonia |
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| IATA: MES – ICAO: WIMM | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public / Military | ||
| Operator | PT Angkasa Pura II | ||
| Location | Medan, Indonesia | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 114 ft / 35 m | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| m | ft | ||
| 05/23 | 2,900 | 9,514 | Asphalt |
| Source: DAFIF[1][2] | |||
Polonia International Airport (Indonesian: Bandar Udara Internasional Polonia) (IATA: MES, ICAO: WIMM) (Popularly Polonia Airport, as in Indonesia, Bandara Polonia) is located in the city of Medan, Indonesia, about 5 km from the Central Business District. It is the first international airport in Medan. It serves flights to several Indonesian and Malaysian cities, along with a flight to Singapore. Flights to Indian cities are also planned. In terms of passenger numbers, Polonia is the fourth largest airport in Indonesia after Soekarno-Hatta, Juanda, and Ngurah Rai.[3]
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[edit] Runway and Facilities
There is a single asphalt runway (05/23) which is 2900 m long and 45 m wide, but has only 2,625 m of usable length. There is no run-off space beyond the runway thresholds, and the airfield is surrounded[4] by residential areas, a fact which led to deaths of residents in the crash of Mandala Airlines Flight 091 in September 2005.
It is often said that its location in a residential district, the wealthy Polonia area, is due to a superstition that the loud noises from aircraft drive away malevolent spirits. This explains why the airport is located within the city, rather than outside it as with most airports.
Until recently, the airport consisted of an international and domestic terminal. A fire in the international arrivals area in 2006 caused damage to the airport, reducing the baggage reclaim area to a small section inside the terminal. On 2 December 2007, the domestic terminal was damaged by another fire.[5] There were no injuries, and the separate international terminal was not affected.
The inappropriate location of the airport in the middle of the city has been implicated in four crashes:
- the 1979 crash of a Garuda Fokker F28-1000 plane that killed 64 people
- the 1987 crash of a Garuda McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 killing 32 people, after hitting one of the city's electricity pylon on approach
- the 1997 crash of Garuda Flight 152, an Airbus A300B4-200 killing 234 people (where the plane crashed into mountains near the city following misdirection from ATC and failure of ground proximity equipment)
- the 2005 crash of Mandala Airlines Flight 091, a Boeing 737-200 killing 149 people
The airport suffers from several problems, apart from being prone to major fires in its terminals, including having a 2,900 m runway with only 2,625 m of usable length, as well as suffering from the proximity of Gunung Sibayak, location of the 1979 crash, as well as having the airport's location be the middle of the city, with the facility surrounded by houses. The airport also suffers from overcrowding, serving 4.5 million passengers annually in facilities designed to handle only 900,000 passengers.
These problems should be resolved by the construction of Kuala Namu International Airport, scheduled to open in 2009, a replacement airport, whose construction had been promised 10 years ago, after the 1997 crash. Construction began 29 June 2006.
[edit] Airlines and destinations
The following airlines operate from Polonia International Airport (as of May 2008) : [6]
[edit] Passenger Terminals
| Airlines | Destinations | Terminal |
|---|---|---|
AirAsia
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Domestic |
AirAsia
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Johor Bahru, Kuala Lumpur
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International |
| Batavia Air | Batam, Jakarta | Domestic |
| Garuda Indonesia (part) | Banda Aceh, Jakarta | Domestic |
| Garuda Indonesia (part) | Chennai, Singapore | International |
| Jetstar Asia Airways |
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International |
| Kartika Airlines (part) | Banda Aceh, Batam | Domestic |
| Kartika Airlines (part) | Ipoh, Penang | International |
| Lion Air (part) | Banda Aceh, Jakarta
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Domestic |
| Lion Air (part) | Penang | International |
| Malaysia Airlines | Kuala Lumpur, Penang | International |
| Mandala Airlines | Banda Aceh, Batam, Jakarta, Padang, Pekanbaru | Domestic |
| Merpati Nusantara Airlines (part) | Bandung, Jakarta, Pekanbaru | Domestic |
| Merpati Nusantara Airlines (part) | Kuala Lumpur | International |
| Singapore Airlines |
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International |
| Sriwijaya Air | Banda Aceh, Batam, Jakarta, Lhok Seumawe, Pekanbaru | Domestic |
Notes :
1 . Batavia Air flies to Jakarta-Cengkareng via Batam.
[edit] Past airlines and routes
[edit] Airlines still in operations with its terminated routes
Please fill in
[edit] Past airlines with its destinations
- Adam Air (Banda Aceh, Jakarta-Cengkareng, Penang) (Operations Ceased)
- China Airlines (Penang, Taipei)
- Ked-Air (Alor Star) (Operations Ceased)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Airport information for WIMM at World Aero Data. Source: DAFIF.
- ^ Airport information for MES at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF.
- ^ Biro Pusat Statistik, "Perkembangan Pariwisata dan Transportasi Nasional Bulan Juli 2006", No. 45/IX/1 September 2006
- ^ M Radzi Desa (2003-11-12). Photo of final approach to runway 05 Medan 1. Airliners.net. Archived from the original on 2007-12-24. Retrieved on 2007-12-24.
- ^ Reuters. "Fire destroys terminal at Indonesian airport", International Herald Tribune. Retrieved on 2007-12-23. Archived from the original on 2007-12-24.
- ^ Destinations from Medan at FareCompare.com
[edit] External links
- Hybrid map and satellite image
- Current weather for WIMM at NOAA/NWS
- Accident history for MES at Aviation Safety Network
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