Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport – Best Transit Airport in South-East Asia

After months of going through hell in the airports of places like India and Vietnam, I am pleased to finally be able to say something nice. And that is that Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport AKA Makassar is an absolute bloody joy to transit.

Not only that, but I will go out on a limb to say it is not just the best domestic Indonesian airport to transit, but maybe, just maybe, the best in South-East Asia.

What the Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport?

Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport is the main airport serving Makassar and one of the biggest aviation hubs in Eastern Indonesia. The airport was originally built by the Dutch in 1935 and opened as Kadieng Airfield in 1937, with a single grass runway. Today it is a very different beast, handling around 350 flights a day and connecting Makassar with 39 domestic destinations and international destinations in Malaysia, Singapore and Saudi Arabia.

The airport is also undergoing expansion, with the new terminal opened in 2024 and current capacity of around 15.5 million passengers a year. Basically, if you are heading anywhere east of Java, there is a pretty good chance you will end up here and as I have said that is not a bad thing. I personally always go through here in my way to West Papua.

Eating and drinking at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport

There’s actually a hell of an amount of extremely varied restaurants at Makassar Airport, with nothing foreign and local tastes catered for. And this even continues outside of the airport where there are street food kiosks and a Burger King.

Inside, greats such as Yoshinoya and A&W, THE Indonesian fast food brand, are represented. And most of them even have smoking rooms, but I will get to that later.

Restaurants at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport

• A&W
• Yoshinoya
• Starbucks
• Marugame Udon
• Burger King
• Solaria
• Roti’O
• Bangi Kopi
• Shuyi Grass Jelly
• Ulu Juku’
• Restaurant Ayu Mandiri
• Cafe Sakti
• RPORT Canteen
• Quickly Airport
• Bebek Goreng Harissa & Soto Madura Wawan
• 3 Siomay

Lounges at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport

The main lounges are Prayana and Blue Sky Lounge, with me having visited the latter on more than one occasion. This is the one that accepts Priority Pass. This is an exceptional lounge experience, particularly for a domestic airport. Not only do they have a buffet, but also a chef cooking limited dishes like noodles and omelettes.

And while there is no booze, they do have an insanely big smoking area. Again, I will get to that later.

Workspaces Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport?

In all the airports within this group, which is the whole of Indonesia pretty much, they have dedicated co-working spaces of varying sizes. In Kupang it was small, but at Makassar it is pretty huge. There is also plenty of plugs, places to sleep and even a gaming area. For nomads this is a bloody great airport.

Facilities at Makassar Airport

There’s a gaming centre, need I say much more?

• Free Wi-Fi
• Charging stations
• Co-working spaces
• Rest and sleeping areas
• Gaming area
• Smoking rooms
• Blue Sky Lounge
• Prayana Lounge
• Priority Pass access
• Buffet and chef cooking station in Blue Sky Lounge
• Circle K
• Duty-free shops
• Money changers
• ATMs
• Restaurants and cafés
• Nursery rooms
• Children’s play area
• Drinking-water stations
• Free trolleys!
• Airline ticketing facilities
• Prayer rooms
• Baggage storage
• Airport Hotels (2)

Click to read about the Cordia Hotel.

Can you smoke at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport?

Can you smoke at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport? Yes, you can, and pretty much throughout the airport. I counted at least 5 smoking rooms, with most being associated with a restaurant. This means you have to pay to go in there for all intents, but this is a very Indonesian thing.

If you have lounge access, then the place to be is Blue Sky. Honestly, the smoking area makes up 1/3 of the whole lounge. Aside from Beirut and Algiers, where staff smoke wherever they want, this has to be the most smoking-friendly airport I have ever been to.

Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport Destinations?

Domestic destinations:

• Ambon
• Balikpapan
• Banjarmasin
• Batu Licin
• Bau-Bau
• Biak
• Bima
• Bone
• Denpasar
• Gorontalo
• Jakarta
• Jayapura
• Kendari
• Kolaka
• Kupang
• Labuan Bajo
• Lombok
• Luwuk
• Nabire
• Palopo
• Palu
• Poso
• Raha
• Selayar
• Semarang
• Sorong
• Surabaya
• Tampa Padang
• Tanjung Redeb
• Ternate
• Wamena

International destinations:

• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• Singapore
• Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

In conclusion

While we don’t pick airports as such, there are certainly ones I avoid transiting at all costs, such as India and Vietnam. Indonesian airports though in general are a breath of fresh air and Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport in particular has to rank as one of the best in South-East Asia.