AHY Targets Soekarno-Hatta to be Among World's Top 10 Airports by 2029
Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) has set a target for Soekarno-Hatta Airport to be ranked among the world’s top 10 airports by 2029. He considers the target realistic given the airport’s consistent improvement in recent years.
AHY stated that strengthening the airport ecosystem is one of the government’s strategies to drive national economic growth, including boosting the tourism and creative economy sectors in the regions. “One of our efforts to drive the economy nationally and in various regions is through strengthening the governance of the airport ecosystem as a mode of transportation expected to increase the mobility of people, goods, and services,” AHY said during a ministerial coordination meeting at his office in Jakarta on Thursday (25/6/2026).
He explained that the government has three main agendas: drafting a legal foundation, preparing an action plan for Soekarno-Hatta Airport, and monitoring and evaluating international airports. “A few months ago, we discussed our spirit to make Soekarno-Hatta Airport a top ten, one of the 10 best airports in the world by 2029. And that must be followed by strengthening its accessibility,” he said.
According to AHY, the target is not merely an ambition. He noted that Soekarno-Hatta Airport’s position has shown continuous improvement compared to other international airports. “From 2022, Soekarno-Hatta Airport was ranked 51st in the world. Gradually, its ranking has improved. Previously in 2025 we were ranked 25th, then in 2026 we were ranked 22nd. So we have already climbed three places. Meanwhile, our projections for 2027, 2028, and 2029, why shouldn’t we have the ambition to enter the top 10? I think this is feasible, not something too far from our reach,” he stated.
However, AHY acknowledged that significant homework remains to achieve the target. Based on the government’s evaluation and an audit by the Development and Finance Comptroller (BPKP), the biggest problem is no longer infrastructure, but rather weak inter-agency coordination. “The main problem is the suboptimal governance of cross-stakeholder collaboration,” he said.
He assessed that sectoral ego remains the main obstacle to improving the quality of airport services. “Of course, everyone has a role, but we also talk about a lot of sectoral ego, many are still compartmentalised. This is not good if we want to improve overall service,” AHY stressed.
According to him, the increase in the number of international flights has indeed continued, but it has not been matched by integrated governance. Therefore, the government is now preparing to strengthen regulations as the foundation for overhauling the airport ecosystem. “The main objective of this meeting is to strengthen the governance of the airport ecosystem through regulatory strengthening and cross-sector collaboration,” he said.
“After that, we will strive to improve competitiveness. Once again, competitiveness is a measure of the achievement of airport service quality. And finally, to ensure that the airport sector truly becomes a lever for our national connectivity. Economic growth and equity can hopefully be created and follow,” he concluded.