Is there an airport at IKN itself?
Yes, it's built and operating since June 2025, but only for VVIP, government, and charter flights. Commercial service is targeted for 2026, pending a presidential regulation.
Yes, there is an airport at IKN, and it's further along than most people realize. Bandara Internasional Nusantara, registered internationally under the ICAO code WALK, has been operating since June 12, 2025, when it received its official airport certificate. The airside infrastructure, runway, air traffic control tower, and emergency response facilities, is fully complete, and the VVIP and VIP terminals have capacity for 1.6 million passengers a year.
What's missing isn't construction, it's classification. The airport was originally built and licensed as a special VVIP airport under Presidential Regulation No. 31 of 2023, meaning it currently serves only state, government, military, and charter flights, it has already handled aircraft including a Boeing 737-400 and a Bombardier Challenger CL 604. Opening it to ordinary commercial passengers requires the government to revise that regulation to change its status.
As of August 2026, that revision is still pending. OIKN head Basuki Hadimuljono confirmed the airport is waiting on this Presidential Regulation before it can operate commercially, with 2026 as the general target, though some officials have discussed a longer runway toward 2028 depending on how things develop. There's also discussion of the airport eventually serving Hajj and Umrah pilgrimage flights as an additional function once commercial status is granted.
Until that happens, if you're flying in, you'll land at Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman (Sepinggan) International Airport in Balikpapan, then travel roughly 75 minutes by road to IKN, a trip that's gotten notably faster with recent toll road improvements.