The construction of Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Sepinggan International Airport started in the Dutch colonial era before Indonesian independence. It was used mainly for the Dutch Oil Company's activities in the Balikpapan area. The airport soon became public and commercial after its management was handed over to Direktorat Jenderal Perhubungan Udara of Republic Indonesia in 1960. Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Sepinggan International Airport was finally managed by Perum Angkasa Pura I due to Government Regulation No.1 on 9 January 1987. With numerous buildings located around the airport and its only runway jutting out into the settlement, landings at the airport were dramatic to experience and technically demanding for pilots. Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Sepinggan International Airport had been renovated twice from 1991 to 1997. The first phase was started in 1991 and ended in 1994, to renovate the taxiway, passenger and cargo terminals and lengthen the runway. In 1995, the Indonesian government announced Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Airport as the fifth Indonesian hajj embarkation airport for Kalimantan region which also consists West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan province. The second phase renovation took place in 1996 to renovate the hangars, fuel depots and the administration buildings. The second phase was finished and the airport started its new operational era with the new buildings and facilities in 1997. The important timeline of the airport:
July 2011: New passenger terminal construction initiated
2012: Cargo terminal move to new building initiated.
2012: Office of Administration, Finance & Commercial move to new offices in the two-story building that has been built as a support facility for the Development Project of Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Sepinggan International Airport.
March 2014: New terminal building tested
September 2014: Officially opened new terminal building by the 6th President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
New Terminal
The new terminal was tested on 22 March 2014 with capacity 10 million passengers per year in 110,000-meter square area with Rp2 trillion investment as the biggest airport in East Indonesia which overcame the overcapacity of 7.1 million passengers last year in only 1.7 million capacity of old terminal. The Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Sepinggan International Airport Eco-Airport is equipped with recycling water plant, air condition control of energy efficiency, using as much as it can of sun lighting, has 11 trunk alleys, 74 check-in counters, 8 conveyor belts, 140,900-meter square apron, 2,300 parking lot in multi storey building. The new terminal formally opened on September 15, 2014.
