Eastern Indonesia’s seaplane expansion exists only as a planning concept, not a live network: it rests on hub airports named in an academic water-aerodrome study cited in Directorate General of Civil Aviation planning material, and on the N219 Amphibious aircraft still in development, with no certified water aerodrome, based operator, or scheduled 2027 route anywhere east of Sulawesi as of September 2026. The N219 Amphibious is an amphibious variant of the N219 turboprop that PT Dirgantara Indonesia is developing. No eastern location currently holds a water aerodrome certificate or registry, and no operator has published a 2027 route east of Sulawesi.
Which eastern hubs exist on paper vs in operation?
The only public list of possible seaplane hubs for eastern Indonesia traces back to an academic water-aerodrome study cited in Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) planning material. That study identifies eight hub airports nationwide as candidates for future water-aerodrome development; six of them sit in eastern Indonesia and form the candidate list below. None of the six carries a Ministry-issued water aerodrome certificate, and none appears on the shorter list of named water landing sites reported elsewhere in the country, such as Pulau Bawah in the Anambas Islands, the Kahayan River in Central Kalimantan, or Benete Waterbase in West Sumbawa.
Anyone researching a charter into this region should treat the table below as a planning reference, not a booking guide, since the sea-planning specifics (fleet type, whole-aircraft charter cost, positioning from base) are worth confirming through a route desk such as the Makassar seaplane charter page before assuming any hub is operational.
| Hub airport | Province/City | Status per water-aerodrome study | Current seaplane activity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sultan Hasanuddin | Makassar, South Sulawesi | Candidate hub in the national study | No certified water aerodrome or scheduled seaplane service |
| Syukuran Aminuddin Amir | Luwuk, Central Sulawesi | Candidate hub in the national study | No certified water aerodrome or scheduled seaplane service |
| Sam Ratulangi | Manado, North Sulawesi | Candidate hub in the national study | No certified water aerodrome or scheduled seaplane service |
| Sultan Babullah | Ternate, North Maluku | Candidate hub in the national study | No certified water aerodrome or scheduled seaplane service |
| Pattimura | Ambon, Maluku | Candidate hub in the national study | No certified water aerodrome or scheduled seaplane service |
| Dominique Eduard Osok | Sorong, Southwest Papua | Candidate hub in the national study | No certified water aerodrome or scheduled seaplane service |
By contrast, the only two Indonesian seaplane operators flying commercially today sit outside this eastern set: Travira Air in NTB and Airfast Indonesia in Kepulauan Riau, according to a senior Ministry of Transportation official’s statement from August 2025. Neither carrier bases aircraft east of Sulawesi.
What would unlock flights (site certification, operator base, SMS compliance)?
Three separate gaps stand between an eastern hub on a study map and a seaplane landing on eastern water. Each one is a regulatory and operational milestone, not a marketing decision.
Water aerodrome certification. Under Article 29(1) of the Ministry of Transportation’s water aerodrome regulation, a water area can only function as a bandar udara perairan after its organiser receives a certificate or registry from the Minister. The technical bar for that certificate is set in Directorate General of Civil Aviation Decree KP 206/2021, the Manual of Standard CASR Part 139 Volume III, which fixes minimum physical, obstacle-limitation, visual-aid and procedural specifications for seaplanes up to 30 seats. No eastern location has cleared this step.
An operator willing to base there. A 2025 “Peluang dan Tantangan Seaplane” paper records the Ministry’s own count of the national seaplane fleet: three operators and seven aircraft total, split between Travira (two Cessna 208 amphibious), Airfast (two Twin Otters) and MAF’s non-commercial mission fleet (two Cessna 208 plus one Kodiak 100 under OC 91). None of that fleet is currently positioned near Makassar, Luwuk, Manado, Ternate, Ambon or Sorong. A hub without a resident aircraft or a repositioning agreement stays theoretical.
Safety management system compliance. PM 2/2026, covering CASR Part 19 Safety Management Systems, took effect from early February 2026 and requires every operator to run hazard identification, risk management, safety assurance and safety promotion processes. Any new eastern base or aircraft type — including the N219 Amphibious once it enters service — has to satisfy this framework, plus CASR 121.339’s overwater equipment rules (sea anchors, survival gear, and for aircraft above 27,000 kg MTOM, an 8.8 kHz underwater locating device). The N219 Amphibious itself is still working through Indonesia’s standard type-certification and registration process before any of that operational compliance becomes relevant, and no public source has confirmed a certification timeline as of September 2026.
Put together, an eastern route needs a certified site, a based aircraft, and a compliant operator, in that order. Today none of the three exists in this region.
How to plan a 2027 eastern charter honestly
The honest starting point for anyone planning around a 2027 eastern Indonesia seaplane trip is that no operator publishes a fixed fare for any Indonesian seaplane route, eastern or otherwise. Every quote is whole-aircraft charter, priced against variables an operator controls directly:
- Aircraft type and seating configuration
- Positioning distance from the operator’s current base (NTB or Kepulauan Riau today)
- Total distance and passenger/luggage weight
- Ground handling and waiting time at each stop
There is also no unified national seaplane booking desk. Reservations run separately through individual operators, resorts and independent brokers, which is exactly why a coordination desk model — an independent service that arranges bookings through licensed AOC-135 partners rather than operating aircraft itself — exists to route an enquiry to whichever operator can actually serve a given date and location. No published source gives monsoon or seasonal shutdown dates for Indonesian seaplane operations either; each landing is cleared individually against the operator’s own weather minima and sea-state limits, not a fixed calendar window.
For 2027 specifically, a realistic plan treats the eastern hub list as a watch list, confirms current operator basing before naming a route, and keeps the seaplane leg optional against a fallback of scheduled air or fast boat until a certified water aerodrome and a based operator both exist for that hub.
Frequently asked questions about eastern Indonesia seaplane routes
Will there be a seaplane route between Bali and eastern Indonesia by 2027?
No operator or regulator has published a 2027 route east of Sulawesi as of September 2026. The six named airports are study candidates, not scheduled destinations, so a 2027 itinerary should treat an eastern seaplane leg as optional rather than confirmed.
Which eastern airports are being studied as future seaplane hubs?
The candidate list covers Sultan Hasanuddin (Makassar), Syukuran Aminuddin Amir (Luwuk), Sam Ratulangi (Manado), Sultan Babullah (Ternate), Pattimura (Ambon) and Dominique Eduard Osok (Sorong). None currently holds a water aerodrome certificate or hosts a based seaplane operator.
Is it safe to book a 2027 trip assuming an eastern seaplane route will exist?
Book the trip around confirmed transport — scheduled air or fast boat — and treat any eastern seaplane leg as a bonus to reconfirm closer to the date. A route desk can check current operator basing before a seaplane segment is added to the plan.