A breakthrough has been announced by Asia Pacific Superyachts (APS) concerning the ability to land private jets at domestic airports in Indonesia.
Both Labuan Bajo and Sorong, the airports in popular superyacht destinations Komodo and Raja Ampat, are classified as 'domestic', meaning private jets haven't been able to land at either location. Additionally, a change to government aviation regulations in 2015 meant that no foreign private jets could fly domestically within Indonesia — only internationally.
However, a detailed report submitted to the Indonesian Transport Minister by the APS team earlier this year has resulted in a welcome exception to the regulation for superyachts and clients of APS Indonesia.
"It has been far from ideal", said Thomas Taatjes, operations manager at APS. "Time is tight and Indonesia is big. Diversions don't work so well. So being able to land in these key places again is absolutely brilliant for us and our clients."
Since the exception was approved APS Indonesia has obtained permits for five private jet landings, meaning that superyacht owners can now meet their boat with relative ease.
Taatjes added: "We are so grateful to the Indonesian Government for listening to us and working with us to fix this issue without having to alter their aviation policy. That is a really big thing."
This move comes several months after it was announced that APS was working with the Indonesian government to make policy changes to increase superyacht visits to the country. APS was also the first company to secure helicopter permits for yachts and they have brought more than 350 yachts into Indonesia to date.