Background , the former principal airport of Surabaya prior to the opening of Juanda International Airport The first airport in Surabaya was located in the present-day Darmo area. Darmo Airfield began construction in the early 1920s as part of broader efforts to modernize air transport in the
Dutch East Indies. Historical records from colonial civil aviation archives indicate that the airfield was operated by the
Koninklijke Nederlandsch Indische Luchtvaart Maatschappij (KNILM) and served as Surabaya’s primary civil aviation hub prior to the
Second World War. Following the closure of Darmo Airfield, Morokrembangan expanded beyond its military role to also accommodate passenger flights, becoming Surabaya’s main commercial airport. However, as air traffic increased, Morokrembangan became increasingly congested. The base could not be expanded due to its limited land area and its proximity to the city, which hindered further development. In the early 1960s, as
Operation Trikora was being planned—a military campaign to reclaim
Western New Guinea from Dutch control—the Indonesian Navy recognized the need for a new airbase to support the operation and house its aircraft. In response, the
Indonesian government approved the construction of the airbase near Surabaya, East Java. Several sites were considered, including
Gresik, Raci (
Pasuruan), and Sedati (
Sidoarjo). After conducting a site survey, Sedati was selected due to its proximity to Surabaya and its expansive, flat terrain, which was ideal for building a large-scale airbase with room for future expansion.
Construction The construction of the airbase, known as Project Waru, was Indonesia's first airfield development since
independence. Prior to this, existing airbases were inherited from the Dutch colonial era and had only been repaired or upgraded. The project was managed by the Waru Project Supervisory Team (TPPW), representing the Indonesian government, and two French companies: Compagnie d'Ingénieurs et Techniciens (CITE) as the consultant and
Société de Construction des Batignolles as the contractor. Under the terms of the contract, the project was to be completed in four years, from 1960 to 1964. On 22 September 1963, the runway was declared operational, marking the completion of the project a full seven months ahead of plan. The following day, a flight of four
Fairey Gannet aircraft from the Indonesian Navy conducted the first official landing at the still under construction airbase. On 7 December 1981, the
Directorate General of Civil Aviation of the
Ministry of Transportation took over the management of the airport. Then, on 1 January 1985, the management of the commercial airport was transferred to Perum Angkasa Pura I, later known simply as Angkasa Pura I, and currently referred to as
InJourney Airport. As civilian flight traffic increased, the need for a dedicated terminal for domestic and international flights became apparent. As a result, a new terminal was constructed to accommodate the growing demand. On 24 December 1990, Juanda Airport was officially designated as an international airport with the opening of its international terminal. Since December 1987, the airport had already been serving flights to destinations such as
Singapore,
Kuala Lumpur,
Hong Kong,
Taipei, and
Manila.
KLM began operating flights to Surabaya in April 1996, offering service to
Amsterdam via Singapore on
Boeing 747s. However, the route was discontinued in February 1997. Since its opening, the Indonesian government also floated the idea of transferring full usage rights of the base to civilian control, arguing that airport operating costs would place an additional burden on the defense and security budget. However, this proposal was rejected by the Indonesian Navy. On 14 February 2014, another new terminal began operations on the southern side of the airport, across the runway, at the site of the former terminal which had been demolished. Covering an area of 50,000 square meters, the new facility has a capacity to handle up to 6.5 million passengers annually. It was subsequently designated as Terminal 2, while the existing terminal is to be known as Terminal 1. In 2014, Juanda International Airport was the world's tenth best in Airport Service Quality by
Airport Council International among 79 airports with passengers capacity between 5 and 15 million a year. In Q1 2015, the airport was the world's seventh best in Airport Service Quality by
ACI. ==Facilities and development==