Lion Air Group has denied it is involved in the operational transfer of Jakarta Halim from state-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura II to Angkasa Transportindo Selaras (ATS), a move that brings to an end a decade-long dispute over the airfield.
Located in East Jakarta, the airport sees commercial flights while also being a TNI-AU Tentara Nasional Indonesia-Angkatan Udara (Indonesian Air Force) base and is owned by the Indonesian Armed Forces (Tentara Nasional Indonesia - TNI). Angkasa Pura II revealed on July 21 that it was handing over the management of it to ATS in compliance with a Supreme Court decision dating from 2015, which ch-aviation reported on at the time.
The airport was temporarily closed for public use in November 2021 for nine months for renovations, but ch-aviation schedule analysis has revealed that Lion Air subsidiary Batik Air (ID, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) will launch routes from there starting from July 31, to Bandar Lampung, Denpasar, Makassar, Malang, Medan Kuala Namu, Padang, Pekanbaru, and Surabaya.
ATS used to be a subsidiary of Lion Air Group. However, the group’s corporate communications chief, Danang Mandala Prihantoro, told local media that “Angkasa Transportindo Selaras is no longer part of Lion Air Group since December 2020” and that the group has no interest in managing the airfield.
The decision to transfer management control was taken at a meeting on July 20 between Angkasa Pura II, ATS, and the Indonesian Air Force. The head of the air force’s information service, Indan Gilang Buldansyah, confirmed that the handover was “a follow-up to a court decision that has permanent legal force.”
