In praise of Makassar’s Hasannudin airport

Arriving in Makassar’s Hasannudin airport last week was a shock, in a most pleasant way. Gone was the cramped musty terminal! In its place is Indonesia’s swankiest and newest airport, with gates and halls that are as wide as football pitches. For more than 70 decades, the old Hasannudin airport has serviced this city, normally considered the gateway of East Indonesia. The market and traffic certainly have grown since and by the time that the new millennium came, the government has started plans to move out of the cramped quarters. It certainly helped that the immediate past vice president Kallah is from South Sulawesi. By no coincidence, the construction of the new airport was fast-tracked and opened just before he left the office. (NB- He ran and lost in last month’s presidential elections).


the airport is said to have been designed and built by local contractors



the predominance of glass ushers in natural light



hallways are cavernous so people have to walk long distances inside the terminal


After just about one year of operation, there is still only one international flight flying into Makassar (Air Asia, with Kuala Lumpur flights) but other airlines may just follow suit. With an equally new multi-lane concrete free way shrinking travel time around South Sulawesi, the city of Makassar is ripe for development.


giant boarding gates offer comfortable space to the passengers



air bridges connect the boarding gates and the planes


To go: Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport is in South Sulawesi, between the border of its capital city, Makassar and Maros. It is about 17 km from Makassar central via the new toll hiway (15 min).

whiling the time away at the Chake Chake airport in Pemba

By nature, airports are made for waiting. You queue to check in, sit out for the boarding call and endure whatever delays that eventually come your way. That is why, despite the sheer weight of my camera and lenses – I gather my shoulder bag must be at least 5kg heavy – I lug them all with me wherever I go.


Pemba fruit stall outside Chake Chake airport



for sale: roasted cashew



signboards of hotel choices just outside the airport


My stay in Chake Chake airport in Pemba was in reality brief. It was less than an hour in fact but watching time go by with my lens was an interesting observation of culture. Outside the airport, vendors of local mangoes that are known to be sweet and cheap were making brisk sales. Dala dala buses ferried the occasional passenger.


a public dala dala bus from China



The minaret is a giveaway for the mosque that is otherwise heralded as “Africa Muslims Agency”

Inside the airport, nothing much transpires either. The waiting room is the typical open-air hall seen in many small airports in Africa. There is a cafeteria selling the prerequisite soda (all Coke products in various forms), smokes and nibbles. Access outside, into the runway, is easy. The small gate is unguarded and no one stops you if you wanted to take a breather. I wasn’t the first one who took the opportunity to roam outside. Was not the last one either.



the solitary waiting lounge of Chake Chake airport



the runway view, as seen from the waiting lounge



the Zan Air plane that was to be our ride to Zanzibar



detail of the stairs that lead to the airport roof deck

To go: Chake Chake is the de facto capital of Pemba Island and it is where the local airport is.

colors in the Joburg airport

Passing through the Joburg airport is always fun. I get a kick in browsing through the different tribal arts in display in the duty free shops, from beadwork jewelry to yarn needlework tapestries to carvings.


the Out of Africa duty free shop showcases a giant Nelson Mandela statue



a closer look of the 7 foot Mandela- all done in beads!


I have not gone out in Johannesburg although I was able to stay in Capetown for a week way back in 2001. Too bad that Filipinos need a visa to get inside the country so we opted not to get out of immigration and just spent the few extra hours inside the OR Tambo airport.


South African tribal dolls are popular souvenirs



a trio of colorful dolls


In between some crucial work I needed to finish in my notebook and relaxing, I had an enjoyable time with my camera.


a tapestry at the South African Air Baobab lounge features panels of yarn needlework



one section of the tapestry depicts drinking



another features what seems to be an arrest of a colored man by white officers: a political statement?