Wamena Airport 3.18

Wamena Airport, is an airport serving the town of Wamena, Puncak Jaya Regency, Papua Province, Indonesia. The airport also serves the neighboring Lanny Jaya Regency and Tolikara Regency. It is currently the only airport in the highland region of Papua that can accommodate narrow-body aircraft such as the Airbus A320, Boeing 737 and C-130 Hercules. The airport also serves as the entry point to the Baliem Valley, where it is known for the Baliem Valley Cultural Festival which is held annually.Due to being located at a high altitude and surrounded by high mountains, Wamena Airport is dubbed as one of the most dangerous airports in Indonesia. Unpredictable weather in the highland of Papua has resulted some aircraft accidents, which sometimes resulted in fatalities. Moreover, the presence of the Free Papua Movement guerrilla in the mountains and jungles nearby has posed a serious risk to the safety of passengers in the airport.ImprovementRecently, a new terminal was inaugurated by President Joko Widodo. The new terminal, which resembles the traditional Papuan home honai, was inaugurated on 30 December 2015. The new terminal which has an area of 4.000 m2 replaced the old run-down terminal which only has an area of 965 m2. Moreover, the runway is also being extended from 2,175 m to 2,400 m. Further improvement involves the building of a parallel taxiway in the airport.