Garuda Indonesia (GA, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) is reportedly mulling replacing its direct Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta-Amsterdam Schiphol service with a route that includes a stopover. According to the Jakarta Post, Jakarta Soekarno–Hatta International Airport's two primary runways, 07R/25L and 07L/25R, are no longer officially considered capable of handling the weight of a fully laden B777-300(ER).
Garuda Indonesia president director Arif Wibowo told the paper in an interview this week that PT Angkasa Pura II, the airport's operator, had downgraded the airfield's PCN [Pavement Classification Number] thereby limiting the loads it is capable of handling.
The PCN is an International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standard used in combination with the Aircraft Classification Number (ACN) to indicate the strength of a runway, taxiway or airport apron (or ramp). It helps to ensure that an airport's ramp is not subjected to excessive wear and tear, thus prolonging its life.
“As a consequence, we are not able to sell all of the seats for our Jakarta to Amsterdam direct flight, because otherwise the plane’s weight will exceed the runway’s bearing strength and damage it. Businesswise, it is not profitable,” Garuda Indonesia operational director Capt. Novijanto Herupratomo said. “Therefore, we are planning to reroute the flight with a stopover in Singapore Changi, but we will continue to serve a direct flight from Amsterdam to Jakarta.”
Angkasa Pura II operational director Djoko Murjatmodjo has said his firm was conducting studies into ways to strengthen the airport's runways in the shortest amount of time possible.
Prior to the arrival of the airline's maiden B777s in 2013, Garuda had plied the route with an A330-200 using a stopover in Abu Dhabi International.
