Bawah Island Water Aerodrome: Inside Indonesia’s First Certified Water Airport
Pulau Bawah in the Anambas Islands, Riau Islands Province, holds Indonesia’s first Water Aerodrome Certificate, issued by the Ministry of Transportation, making it the country’s first certified water airport for seaplanes. The aerodrome serves the private island resort at Bawah and is not open to scheduled or walk-up commercial traffic.
Most travelers researching “Bawah Island water aerodrome” want to know what the certificate actually means, who is allowed to fly there, and what arrival feels like when the aircraft touches down on open water instead of a runway. Here is what the regulation, the operator record, and the arrival sequence actually cover.
How Was Bawah Island Certified as a Water Aerodrome?
Indonesia’s water aerodrome framework treats a seaplane (pesawat udara perairan) as an aircraft built to land and take off on water, and a water aerodrome (bandar udara perairan) as the water area used for those movements, together with any supporting land- or water-based facilities. Article 29(1) of the governing regulation is specific on this point: a water aerodrome may only begin operating after its organiser receives a certificate or registry issued by the Minister of Transportation.
Bawah’s certificate is the first one issued under that article, which is why Indonesia.travel and the Ministry itself describe it as the country’s first water airport. The technical standards behind the certificate come from Directorate General of Civil Aviation Decree KP 206/2021, formally the Manual of Standard CASR Part 139 Volume III for Water Aerodromes. That manual sets the minimum physical layout, obstacle-limitation surfaces, visual aids, and operating procedures required for a water aerodrome serving seaplanes with up to 30 seats — a category that covers every aircraft currently flying Indonesian seaplane routes.
Because Bawah sits inside the wider Anambas cluster rather than standing alone, travelers comparing charter costs across the island group typically start their planning with Anambas Islands seaplane cost before narrowing down a specific resort transfer.
One more layer applies once the aircraft is on the water rather than in the air: Permenhub No. 08/2025 requires seaplane personnel operating on water to follow shipping and maritime law in addition to standard aviation rules — a dual regulatory regime that is unique to water aerodromes compared with land airstrips.
Who Operates Flights to Bawah Island?
Bawah is a private-use aerodrome tied to the resort, so it does not run a public timetable the way a commercial airport does. A senior Ministry of Transportation official stated in August 2025 that only two operators fly seaplanes commercially in Indonesia at that time: Travira Air in NTB and Airfast Indonesia in Kepulauan Riau, the province that includes the Anambas Islands.
Airfast Indonesia holds Air Operator Certificate 135-002 and flies the DHC-6-300 Twin Otter in amphibious configuration — the aircraft type most associated with the Riau Islands water routes. A 2025 aviation journal listing of certified operators also records Travira Air (an operator with an Air Operator Certificate, flying the Cessna Grand Caravan 208A amphibious), Dirgantara Indonesia’s N219 Amphibious under OC 91-015, and API Banyuwangi (AOC 141D-014) as a training operator rather than a charter one. A separate 2025 Ministry-referenced paper counts three operators nationwide running seven aircraft in total, so the fleet flying into places like Bawah remains small by design.
What Does Arrival at Bawah Island Look Like for Guests?
Because the aerodrome is water, not asphalt, the pre-flight checklist looks different from a typical domestic transfer. Weight, luggage limits, and equipment all affect whether the aircraft can land and take off safely on that stretch of sea.
| Guest step | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Weight declaration | Total passenger and baggage weight is confirmed before boarding; amphibious aircraft in this class carry tight payload limits |
| Luggage format | Soft-sided bags are preferred over rigid hard-shell cases to fit cabin and float-compartment space |
| Dive and water-sports gear | Tanks, weights, and bulky gear are usually declared separately and may travel on a following transfer if weight allows |
| Life jacket briefing | Standard for any overwater seaplane sector, per CASR overwater-operations requirements |
| Weather hold | Landing proceeds only once the operator confirms sea state and wind are within its limits for that day |
No published fare exists for the Bawah route in operator or government sources, so pricing runs on a quote basis tied to aircraft type, positioning distance from base, total weight, and handling — not a fixed per-seat ticket. Resorts that include seaplane transfer in a package quote it as part of the stay rather than as a standalone fare.
How Does Bawah Compare With Other Indonesian Water Aerodromes?
A 2026 AsiaToday report names five sites with special water-aerodrome status in Indonesia. Bawah is the only one with a full Ministry certificate; the others operate on a private or domestic basis without that same certification step.
| Site | Province | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Bawah Island, Anambas | Riau Islands | First Water Aerodrome Certificate; private resort use |
| Pangpang Bay, Banyuwangi | East Java | Training and private use |
| Kahayan River | Central Kalimantan | Private/domestic use |
| Benete Waterbase | West Sumbawa, NTB | Private/domestic use; linked in reporting to Airfast, Travira Air, and Airborne |
| Moyo Island | NTB | Special water-aerodrome status |
A frequent claim online is that Indonesia has “eight government-designated water-landing locations.” That figure actually traces to a 2025 systematic study on whether Indonesia needs water aerodromes, which proposed eight hub airports as planning references within a 100-nautical-mile radius — Ngurah Rai, Komodo, Sultan Hasanuddin, Syukuran Aminuddin Amir, Sam Ratulangi, Sultan Babullah, Pattimura, and Dominique Eduard Osok. None of these carry a formal government designation as landing sites; they are study reference points, and Bawah’s certificate stands apart from that list entirely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bawah Island’s water aerodrome open to the public?
No. It is a private-use aerodrome operated for the Bawah Reserve resort. There is no public ticket counter or scheduled seaplane service; access runs through the resort’s own transfer arrangements with its contracted operator.
How long has the Bawah Island water aerodrome held its certificate?
Public Ministry and Indonesia.travel sources confirm it as the first Water Aerodrome Certificate issued in Indonesia but do not publish an exact issue date. Treat the “first” status as confirmed and date-stamp any further detail as of September 2026.
Can any seaplane operator land at Bawah, or only one airline?
Ministry statements from August 2025 name Airfast Indonesia as the commercial operator flying in Kepulauan Riau province, which covers Anambas. Landing rights at a private aerodrome like Bawah typically run through the resort’s operator agreement rather than open access.