Sentani Airport

Sentani Airport Bandar Udara Sentani
Sentani Airport of Jayapura
IATA: DJJ – ICAO: WAJJ DJJ Location of airport in Papua
Summary
Airport type		Public
Owner		Jayapura Government
Serves		Jayapura, Papua, Indonesia
Elevation AMSL		289 ft / 88 m
Coordinates		02°34′37″S 140°30′58″E / 2.57694°S 140.51611°E / -2.57694; 140.51611
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
12/30	2,500	8,200	Asphalt
Source: DAFIF[1][2]

Lion Air at Sentani Airport of Jayapura

Batavia Air at Sentani Airport of Jayapura

Sentani Airport (Indonesian: Bandar Udara Sentani) (IATA: DJJ, ICAO: WAJJ) is an airport serving Jayapura,^[1] the capital of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. The name of this airport is taken from a lake nearby.

History

Sentani Airport was a part of the large American facilities at Hollandia, which was liberated from the Japanese by an American amphibious task force Code named Operation Reckless on 22 April 1944.

The area was occupied by the Japanese in April 1942, and by October 10, 1943, the Japanese had built a large complex with two runways: a western runway of 4,500 ft and a second southern runway was 6,200 ft x 340 ft. There were 24 larger bomber revetments to the west of the strip, and an additional 27 to the east of the field, connected by taxiways to the two runways. Anti-aircraft defenses included 4 light guns that were later upgraded. The airfields were badly cratered by American bomber raids.

Once controlled by the Americans the airfields were rebuilt and it became a command and control base with large numbers of operational units flying combat missions with fighters and heavy bombers operating out of the area. The American facilities consisted of three large military airfields: Hollandia, Sentani and Cyclops Aerodromes.

At the end of the war the Hollandia airfield was abandoned but remains in good condition to this day. Part of the complex was the Cyclops airfield, which was a single runway facility, built by the Japanese. It is notable because it functioned as MacArthur's HQ at Hollanida. Today Cyclops Airfield is overgrown, being abandoned since the war. It has been partially developed into the town of Jayapura.

Sentani Airfield is the only part of the complex still in use as an airfield today. It is used as the principal entry point into the Indonesian half of the island.

Major USAAF units stationed at Hollandia

• 308th Bombardment Wing (10 August-22 October 1944)
• 310th Bombardment Wing (6 May-18 September 1944)
• 85th Fighter Wing (24 July-24 October 1944)
• 3d Bombardment Group (12 May-16 November 1944)
• 312th Bombardment Group (June-19 November 1944)
• 49th Fighter Group (17 May-5 June 1944)
• 475th Fighter Group (15 May-14 July 1944)
• 317th Troop Carrier Group (June-17 November 1944)
• 418th Night Fighter Squadron (12 May-28 September 1944)

Facilities

The airport resides at an elevation of 289 feet (88 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 12/30 with an asphalt surface measuring 2,183 by 45 metres (7,162 × 148 ft).^[1]

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Batavia Air	Jakarta, Manokwari, Makassar
Garuda Indonesia	Biak, Denpasar, Jakarta, Makassar, Timika
Lion Air	Jakarta, Makassar
Merpati Nusantara Airlines	Biak, Manado, Manokwari, Merauke, Tembagapura
Trigana Air Service	Wamena

Hygiene culture

In Sentani Airport, you can find the typical prohibition sign besides no smoking sign, viz. "Do not eating areca nut" or the no eat areca nut sign. This is because frequent Papuans chewing the areca nut and carelessly discard the areca nut juice immediately. So the juice spurts everywhere. It is called "spitting redly" [1]

See also

• USAAF in the Southwest Pacific

References

	United States Air Force portal
	Military of the United States portal
	World War II portal

1. ^ ^{a b c} Airport information for WAJJ from DAFIF (effective October 2006)
2. ^ Airport information for DJJ at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective Oct. 2006).

Other sources

•  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
• Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
• www.pacificwrecks.com

External links

• Current weather for WAJJ at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for DJJ at Aviation Safety Network