Lombok Airport Guide: Bali’s Quieter Neighbour Takes Off
Lombok Airport links the island with Jakarta, Bali, Kuala Lumpur and beyond. Read about its history, long runway, airlines, routes and transport.
By The Aviation Hub
5 min read
Updated October 20, 2026 
Lombok has long lived in the shadow of Bali, its busier neighbour to the west. A modern airport has helped change that. Lombok Airport, officially Zainuddin Abdul Madjid International Airport, opened in 2011 in the south of the island and handled about 2.4 million passengers in 2024. It serves surfers, divers, MotoGP fans and pilgrims, and it is the main gateway to the Gili Islands and the Mandalika resort area.
Lombok Airport at a Glance
The IATA code is LOP and the ICAO code is WADL. Lombok Airport sits near Praya in Central Lombok Regency, about 17 miles (27 km) southeast of Mataram, the provincial capital. The elevation is 319 feet (97 metres). There is one runway and one passenger terminal.
Traffic reached roughly 2.4 million passengers in 2024, up 1.8 per cent, with about 24,900 aircraft movements and 13,000 tonnes of cargo. No airline treats the field as a full hub, though Indonesia AirAsia said in 2019 it planned to make it one. The state airport company, formerly Angkasa Pura I and now part of InJourney Airports, operates the site. Details are on the airport’s official website.
How Lombok’s Airport Came to Be
Aviation on the island began at Rambang Airfield in East Lombok, a Dutch era refuelling stop on routes to Australia used by KLM. Entrants in the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race also landed there. After independence, Selaparang Airport in Mataram became the island’s gateway.
Selaparang was hemmed in by housing and too short for wide body aircraft. A new site in the rice fields of Central Lombok was chosen instead, and Selaparang closed to airline traffic once the move was complete. Operations began on 1 October 2011, and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono formally opened Lombok Airport on 20 October 2011. In its early years, local residents and vendors operated inside the terminal area, giving it the feel of a market.
In 2018 the airport was renamed after Zainuddin Abdul Madjid, an Islamic scholar who founded the Nahdlatul Wathan organisation. Many residents saw the change as political, and plenty still use the old name. The same year, powerful earthquakes struck the island and thousands of tourists left through the terminal.
Runways at Lombok Airport
A single asphalt runway, 13/31, measures 3,300 metres (10,826 feet) long and 60 metres (197 feet) wide. It was extended from 2,750 metres, allowing wide body aircraft such as the Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 to operate. An 865 metre parallel taxiway was added to speed up movements.
Seasonal winds influence runway direction. Dry season southeasterly trade winds, from about April to October, tend to favour runway 13. Westerly monsoon winds in the wet season bring runway 31 into use. Tropical storms can be heavy, but the field is rarely closed for long.
The extra length matters for Hajj and Umrah flights to Saudi Arabia, which carry large numbers of pilgrims from Lombok, a strongly Muslim island. The runway also hosts training flights by the Lombok Institute of Flight Technology, which operates three light aircraft.
Terminals and Airlines
The terminal covers about 43,500 square metres, with 46 check in counters and 7 gates, five of them with jet bridges. A 2021 to 2022 expansion, timed for the first MotoGP race at Mandalika, lifted stated capacity to 7 million passengers a year. The apron grew to 16 aircraft stands. In 2024 the departure lounges were enlarged to seat 1,600 domestic and 1,200 international passengers.
Domestic carriers dominate Lombok Airport. Garuda Indonesia, Citilink, the Lion Air group, Pelita Air and TransNusa carry most passengers. Wings Air flies ATR 72 turboprops to smaller islands. AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia and Batik Air Malaysia fly to Kuala Lumpur, Lion Air joined them in June 2026, and Scoot serves Singapore.
Routes and Destinations
Jakarta Soekarno Hatta is the main route, with many daily flights. Surabaya, Denpasar, Makassar, Balikpapan and Yogyakarta add other important links. Flights east connect with Labuan Bajo, gateway to Komodo National Park, along with Bima and Waingapu.
Kuala Lumpur and Singapore are the core international routes. At roughly 1,280 miles (2,060 km), Kuala Lumpur is typically the longest scheduled flight, although Hajj charters to Saudi Arabia travel much further. AirAsia launched Perth in 2019, but the route was suspended in 2020 and has not returned. TransNusa has also announced plans for a Darwin service. Australia, Thailand, China and Jeddah have all been proposed as future markets.
Traffic peaks during the dry season from June to September, around Indonesian holidays, and on MotoGP weekends. Cargo is modest, with seafood among the main exports.
Getting to and from Lombok Airport
Perum DAMRI runs scheduled air conditioned buses from the terminal to the Mandalika bus terminal in eastern Mataram and to Senggigi on the west coast. They are the cheapest sensible option for independent travellers. Journey times run to around an hour or more, depending on traffic and stops.
Metered taxis from Bluebird and Express operate alongside an airport cooperative service. Kuta and the Mandalika resorts are about 30 minutes south by road. Parking sits directly in front of the terminal at low rates.
Travellers to the Gili Islands face around two hours by car to Bangsal harbour, followed by a short boat crossing. Many hotels arrange transfers. There is no rail on the island.
Spotting and Photography
Lombok Airport sits among rice fields and low hills, giving a green backdrop rarely found at larger airports. Lanes around the perimeter offer views of approaches, while Hajj season brings wide body visitors that stand out against the narrow body routine.
The sun sits to the north for much of the dry season, so positions on the northern side often work best from April to September. Mornings bring the clearest air before afternoon heat haze builds.
Respect the rules. Stay on public land, keep clear of fences and farmland belonging to local families, and follow instructions from airport security.
What Comes Next
The terminal has room to grow, with capacity well above current demand. The provincial government wants an aerocity around the airport, though it was still seeking investors as of 2021. New international routes to Australia and beyond are the priority, and the long runway can already handle them.
Mandalika’s racing calendar and resort development should keep Lombok Airport busy. Compare it with Bali and other Indonesian gateways on our Airports of the World map. The verdict: Lombok Airport has the runway and terminal for far more traffic, and its future depends on winning international routes from Bali’s shadow.
Continue to follow The Aviation Hub for more analysis and insight.
Advertise with us Your brand, in front of an aviation audience Home page and in-article placements, sold directly, one advertiser per slot. From £250 a year. See the rates
