Jakarta – The Indonesian Air Force declared on Wednesday that none of its airbases had been sold to private parties. It refuted allegations made by a House of Representatives (DPR) legislator that a plot of land belonging to it had been acquired by a foreign airline for commercial purposes.
"It's not true," Air Force chief of staff Air Marshal Agus Supriatna said on Wednesday.
Air Force spokesperson Air Comr Dwi Badarmanto said the force's property formed part of the state's defenses and should not be sold to anybody.
Dwi acknowledged, however, that the Air Force had leased a 20-hectare plot of land at the Halim Perdanakusuma airbase for use as a public airport to assist the already crowded Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Cengkareng, Banten, in hosting a huge number of commercial flights.
House legislator Fahri Hamzah claimed via Twitter on Sunday that an airbase had been bought by a foreign airline. He did not mention which airbase, but was likely referring to Halim Perdanakusuma.