Cirebon mayor under fire for airport name change

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Cirebon, West Java

The Cirebon municipal government's unilateral decision to change the name of Penggung Airport to Cakrabhuwana Airport has been criticized by residents and the Cirebon Legislative Council.

Council speaker Suryana said the decision showed the arrogance of the administration. He also said changing the name of the airport also demonstrated the administration's lack of understanding of regional autonomy.

"It is not the authority of the municipality or the mayor (to change the name). The minister of (transportation) is the person who is authorized to make such a decision.

"If the mayor feels the need to go through with this decision, it shows his arrogance. Regional autonomy has been misinterpreted," he said on Monday.

A sign reading Cakrabhuwana Airport has already been put up at the airport, located in Harjamukti district, six kilometers south of Cirebon city.

The name change was done without the written approval of the airport management or the Ministry of Transportation.

Mayor Subardi earlier told reporters that the municipality had decided to change the name of Penggung Airport.

He also said the sign with the airport's new name had been constructed by the Cirebon municipality.

"The idea of changing the name was originally brought up by the municipality to honor prince Cakrabhuwana as the founder of Cirebon," the mayor said.

He also said the municipality planned to take over the management of the airport, which is currently managed by the Ministry of Transportation.

The head of the airport, Dadang Ekasmana, said the name change was not official. "As of this moment, the name is still Penggung Airport."

Dadang said the new name had only been proposed by the municipality administration and had not been approved by the ministry.

Asked about the sign with the new name that had been put up in front of the airport, he said that it was fully initiated and financed by the municipality.

According to Dadang, changing the name of an airport was not a simple process as it involved international aviation rules.

When an airport is renamed, its call sign must also be changed on international flight maps, with the changes disseminated to every country in the world.

"There is a long list of procedures because we have to report the change of name to the International Telecommunications Union. So, apart from getting the blessings and approval of the Ministry of (Transportation) first, it is a lengthy and intricate process and certainly costs a lot of money," he said.