Departure
98%
vs 95% ▲ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Sepinggan International Airport (WALL/BPN) serves Balikpapan on the east coast of Kalimantan, Indonesia, and is the principal air gateway to East Kalimantan. Its single long runway juts out into a densely built-up coastal area, making approaches and departures here visually striking and technically demanding for pilots. The field also hosts an Indonesian Air Force base alongside its busy commercial operations.
Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Sepinggan International Airport, still widely known by its former name Sepinggan Airport, is the main airport for Balikpapan and the surrounding region of East Kalimantan on the island of Kalimantan, Indonesia. It functions as a major regional hub, handling both domestic and international traffic, and shares its site with Dhomber Air Force Base, a facility of the Indonesian Air Force. Because the runway extends into a densely built-up part of the city, arrivals and departures are often described as dramatic and demanding, which makes it a notable field for the virtual pilot to study before flying in.
The airport lies at Balikpapan, in the Indonesian province of East Kalimantan, on the coast of Kalimantan. It is a large, controlled international aerodrome with its own approach service, and shares its site and airfield infrastructure with the Indonesian Air Force's Dhomber Air Force Base. The field sits at an elevation of 10 feet above mean sea level, close to the built-up coastal city of Balikpapan.
The aerodrome has a single physical runway, 07/25, an asphalt hard-surfaced strip 8,203 feet long that is lit for night operations. Runway 25 is equipped with an ILS approach.
Balikpapan Approach can be reached on 120.4 MHz, with ATIS broadcast on 127.6 MHz. A secondary information frequency, Balikpapan Info, is available on 341.6 MHz, and the tower operates on 118.1 MHz. Runway 25 offers an ILS approach for instrument arrivals.
Before the Second World War the Dutch colonial authorities had already built an airfield at nearby Manggar, which became operational in 1936 and served the Dutch East Indies flag carrier KNILM as well as military aircraft of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force. Balikpapan's strategic importance, driven by its oil resources, made it an early target for Japanese forces, who landed on 23 January 1942 and swiftly overcame Dutch resistance, rehabilitating Manggar Airfield within days. To reinforce their position, the Japanese built a second airfield in 1942, originally named Sepinggan Airfield after the local area; the name Sepinggan derives from the Paser language phrase for a shared plate, symbolising unity. Sepinggan Airfield was heavily bombarded by Allied forces during the Battle of Balikpapan between January and July 1945, and was captured by the Australian Army's 2/14th Battalion on 2 July 1945 with minimal resistance. Repairs began immediately, and the first Royal Australian Air Force Auster took off from the field the following day; it remained in Allied use until the end of the Pacific War. After the war Manggar Airfield fell into disuse and development shifted to Sepinggan, which was transferred to Indonesian civil authorities and became a public commercial airport under the Bureau of Civil Aviation in 1960. A new terminal, built to relieve severe overcapacity at the old facility, opened on 15 September 2014, making it one of the largest airports in eastern Indonesia.
The airport today is a hub for Citilink, Super Air Jet, Lion Air and Wings Air, handling substantial domestic and international traffic to destinations including Jakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar, Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei. It continues to host Dhomber Air Force Base alongside civil operations. The airport is expected to grow further in importance as one of the main gateways to Indonesia's new capital city, Nusantara, with plans for a toll road connection between the two.