Discussion Text : The Construction of a New Airport in Kulon Progo Regency

By : Wahib Adiyatma

Airplane is one of the most popular public transportation, beside travel time is fast, the facility and services in the plane or in the station is also primly. unfortunately airplane only accessible in the region that have an aircraft transportation station called airport. Because of that the presence and absence airport in the region have an effect to public comfort. More airports built in the county means more place destination that can be reach by public easily. airports divided into two categories, international airports and domestic airport. In Indonesia there is 36 international airports and 201 domestic airports that scattered in Java Island, Sumatra Island, Sulawesi Island, Kalimantan Island, Bali Island, Nusa Tenggara Island, Maluku Island, Kalimantan Island and Papua Island. Airport is also have own qualification to make the customers feel comfortable, which is completeness of facilities and the area of land that use as an airport. Airplane need large airport to do flight activities. International Airport Adisucipto for an example, this airport located in the middle of Jogja city, having busy flight schedule but the large of airport is limited for flight activity. To respond that thing, the government have a plan to build a new airport in Kulonprogo, Yogyakarta that cause pro and cons among people and government.

A half of people agreed with the government policy to build a new airport in Kulonprogo Residence remember how busy flight activities in International Airport Adisucipto while the large of area and facilities is not adequate. This thing is clearly distrub the comfort of customers, remember Adisucipto International Airport located in the middle of Jogja City which is always crowded visited by tourism. The area of International Airport Adisucipto only can accommodate seven planes for parking, while every day there is so many flight schedule so if one plane have delayed, the other planes will queue by spinning around the sky above Wates until the airport is available to use for landing. This things is clearly distrub the comfort of customers. and more than that Adisucipto International Airport  only can accommodate for 1.2 billion people but actually the customers that visit Adisucipto soaring to 7.2 billion people eveyday. This things is clearly beyond the limit of Adisucipto facilities. So with the new airport in the Kulonprogo absolutely can help to decrease activites in the Adisucipto International Airport and make the customers feels more comfortable to visited the regional of Yogyakarta and around.

In other hand, local people of Kulonprogo have another reason to respond the construction of new international Airport of Yogyakarta. They disagree with that police because they have assumption that building new airport in the Kulonprogo will make a natural disaster, environmental destruction, and have a bad impact to local people who work as farmers, fisherman or other in that area. They also don't want the natural beauty that exist in the Kulonprogo replaced by airport activity.  Another reason of local people said that they object the construction of new airport of Yogyakarta because they want to inherited their land to their child and grandchild. They also have an argument that the government's way to negotiation with the local people considered unfair, they also accused that the way of negotiation is not proper and deviate from the normal step that exist. That things make local people disagree with construction of new airport in Kulonprogo.

But however local people should be see the reason of constructive of building the airport from another point of view, they should be conscious that with supporting the construction of new airport means supporting government effort in terms of make the people feel comfortable and supporting developing of the county. And i believe if the local people agree to work together with government, they will replace the loss of people's land with the proper prices. About local job, they can try to take the advantageous of new airport by opening a store that would be crowded by visitor from airport.