# Syamsudin Noor Airport

Syamsudin Noor Airport (IATA: BDJ, ICAO: WAOO) is an airport serving Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, Indonesia. It is located in the district of Landasan Ulin, 5 km (3.1 mi) west of Banjarbaru, the capital of South Kalimantan, and about 25 km (16 mi) southeast from the centre of the city of Banjarmasin, the largest city of South Kalimantan. The airport served more than 5.3 million passengers in 2017.
On 2 April 2024, the Ministry of Transportation revoked the authorisation for this airport to serve international routes.

## History

The airport is named after Syamsudin Noor, an Indonesian Air Force pilot and revolutionary from South Kalimantan. He crashed into mount Galunggung during a flight from Bandung to Tasikmalaya. His remains are buried in Cikutra Heroes Cemetery, Bandung. Before 1970, the airport was named Ulin Airfield, which was named after the district where the airport is located. It was originally built as a military airbase by the Dutch East Indies government in 1936. Following the capitulation of the Dutch East Indies government to the Japanese invading forces in 1942, the Japanese occupational authority repaired the damaged airfield in 1944 to support the war effort against the Allied forces. At that time the airfield only has a runway measuring 2,220 meters long and 45 meters wide.
After the Dutch returned to Banjarmasin, in 1948, the Netherland Indies Civil Administration (NICA) conducted some minor renovations to the airport, notably hardening the runway with a new 10 centimeters thick foundation. When the Dutch left, the airport was handed over to the Indonesian government. Because it was considered as an important and strategic asset, the Indonesian government was slowly starting to develop the airport. In the period from 1974 to 1977, the runway was lengthened to accommodate larger aircraft such as the Fokker-28. Initially having the status of a non-civilian airport, the airport was finally designated as a civilian airport in 1975.

## Development and expansion

As the airport was running overcapacity, further development and expansion was required. In early 2013, this airport served 5.5 million passengers, whereas the capacity was only for 4.0 million passengers. In August 2012, about 58 hectares of 102 hectares (57%) of the land needed for the expansion had been acquired. The development work was predicted to be completed in late 2014. However, the development was delayed due to land acquisition problems and didn't get underway until 2017.
To increase the airport's capacity and services, Angkasa Pura I built a new terminal at Syamsudin Noor Airport along with other supporting facilities to overcome the problem of lack of capacity with an investment value of Rp.2.2 trillion (US$1.4 billion). This airport development project is also included in one of the National Strategic Projects (PSN).
The airport development project consists of two phases. Phase I, which effectively started in 2018, includes the construction of a new passenger terminal building covering an area of 77,569 square meters which can accommodate 7 million passengers per year, equipped with 42 check-in counters, three jetbridges and four baggage conveyors. Phase 2, which effectively started in 2017, includes expanding the apron to an area of 129,812 square meters to accommodate parking for 14 narrow-body aircraft, building supporting building facilities and other supporting infrastructure including a new cargo building covering an area of 3,079 square meters and a vehicle parking yard with a total area of 36,780 square meters to accommodate 1,199 four-wheeled vehicles and 720 two-wheeled vehicles.
The expansion was completed and began operating in December 2019. The airport terminal was expanded from 9,000 square meters to 77,569 square meters and is able to accommodate 10 million passengers per year. The new airport terminal began operations on 10 December 2019. The new apron can accommodate 20 aircraft (2 Boeing 747, 2 Boeing 777, 2 Boeing 767, 12 Boeing 737, and 2 ATR-72). The runway was also extended from 2,500 × 45 m to 3,000 × 45 m.

## Airlines and destinations
### Passenger

| Airlines | Destinations |
| Citilink | Balikpapan, Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta, Semarang, Surabaya |
| Garuda Indonesia | Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta |
| Indonesia AirAsia | Denpasar |
| Lion Air | Denpasar, Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta, Makassar, Semarang, Surabaya, Yogyakarta–International |
| Pelita Air | Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta |
| Smart Aviation | Puruk Cahu |
| Super Air Jet | Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta, Lombok, Pontianak, Surabaya |
| Susi Air | Buntok, Kuala Kurun, Kuala Pembuang, Puruk Cahu, Tumbang Samba |
| Wings Air | Balikpapan, Batulicin, Kotabaru, Muara Teweh |

### Cargo

| Airlines | Destinations |
| Airfast Indonesia | Jakarta-Halim Perdanakusuma |
| Airnesia Royal Cargo | Jakarta-Halim Perdanakusuma, Semarang |
| My Indo Airlines | Surabaya |
| Pelita Air | Balikpapan |
| Trigana Air Service | Jakarta-Halim Perdanakusuma |
| Tri-MG Intra Asia Airlines | Jakarta-Halim Perdanakusuma, Surabaya |

## Statistics

Busiest routes from BDJ by frequency (April 2024) :
| Rank | Destinations | Frequency (weekly) | Airlines |
| 1 | Jakarta-Soekarno-Hatta | 94 | Batik Air, Garuda Indonesia, Lion Air, Super Air Jet |
| 2 | Surabaya | 78 | Citilink, Lion Air, Super Air Jet |
| 3 | Semarang | 25 | Citilink, Lion Air |
| 4 | Yogyakarta-International | 25 | Lion Air |
| 5 | Balikpapan | 22 | Wings Air, Citilink |
| 6 | Denpasar | 10 | Lion Air,Indonesia AirAsia |
| 7 | Muara Teweh | 10 | Wings Air |
| 8 | Makassar | 10 | Lion Air |
| 9 | Batulicin | 7 | Wings Air |
| 10 | Kotabaru | 7 | Wings Air |

## Ground transportation
### Taxi

Usually taxis are there until the last flight. Taxi service providers are:
* Arya Taxi
* Kojatas Taxi
* Kopatas Taxi
* Banua Taxi
* Banjar Taxi
* Borneo Taxi
* City Transportation with the aim: Banjarmasin KM 6, Gambut, Banjarbaru, and Martapura

### Bus

Perum DAMRI operates bus routes from the Airport to Banjarmasin by medium-sized buses.

## Accidents and incidents

* On 13 January 1980, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 PK-GND of Garuda Indonesia named "Brantas", was damaged beyond repair in a heavy landing. There were no injuries.
* On 4 January 1989, a Bouraq Indonesia Airlines PK-IHA HS 748 suffered extensive damage when the pilots had to perform a belly landing at Syamsudin Noor Airport, following a failure of the landing gears with 47 passengers and five crew on board.
* On 28 August 1992, Vickers Viscount PK-IVX of Bouraq Indonesia Airlines was damaged beyond economic repair when an engine fire forced the crew to abort the take-off.
* On 16 August 2013, Garuda Indonesia Boeing 737-8U3 PK-GMH flight 532 from Jakarta suffered from nose wheel steering malfunction. The aircraft landed safely but needed to be towed off the runway.
* On 16 April 2016, ATR 72-500 PK-KSC of Kalstar Aviation flight KD931 was climbing from Banjarmasin to Kotabaru when the crew reported a fire indication in the number 1 engine. The plane returned and landed at Banjarmasin about 15 minutes later. The aircraft stopped on the runway and was evacuated. There were no injuries. Indonesia's Ministry of Transportation confirmed the aircraft suffered an engine fire indication; the engine was shut down.