I arrived in Surabaya on yet another whirlwind tour of Indonesia yesterday. I was a bit surprised when the plane pulled up to the new terminal building. I’ve been coming to Surabaya for a couple of years now, and I’ve seen the new terminal under construction every time. Now it’s finally open, although like a lot of projects like this in Southeast Asia, open doesn’t mean complete.

The new airport is a lot bigger than the old one, with sky bridges to board plans, big boarding lounges, and lots of shops out front. Some of the design elements remind me of Jakarta’s airport. However, despite the more spacious appearance, the airport is already crowded. Like the new airport in Bangkok, it’s taken so long to complete that the new terminal was at capacity on the day it opened.