Komodo International Airport
airport in the East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia
Komodo International Airport (IATA: LBJ, ICAO: WATO), formerly known as Mutiara II Airport, is an international airport serving the town of Labuan Bajo, the capital of West Manggarai Regency, located on the western tip of Flores Island in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Named after the Komodo dragon—an iconic species endemic to the nearby Komodo National Park—the airport functions as the primary gateway to the park and other surrounding tourist destinations. In response to growing passenger demand and the region's increasing popularity as a tourist destination, the airport has expanded its route network. It now offers regular flights to major Indonesian cities such as Jakarta, Surabaya, and Denpasar (Bali), as well as international connections to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, and Singapore. The airport also supports regional air travel within Flores, with services to towns including Bajawa, Ende, and Maumere.
History
Early history
The idea of constructing an airport to serve Labuan Bajo in western Flores emerged in 1970. Komodo Airport was constructed in 1975. Initially, its runway was an unpaved grass strip oriented east–west. Following flight trials, obstacles were identified along the east–west approach, prompting the runway to be reoriented on a north–south alignment. At the time, the airport could accommodate only small aircraft, such as the DHC-6 Twin Otter, which was primarily used for pioneer flights serving remote and rural areas.
“Komodo International Airport” enters the record as airport in the East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Komodo, International and Airport can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1927261. Authority coordinates are -8.487, 119.889. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1970 and 1975.
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This entry incorporates text from “Komodo International Airport” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.