Waris Airport

Replacement and Modernization. The old airstrip was replaced by a new, modern airport built nearby as part of the Indonesian government's Nawa Cita program to improve infrastructure in remote and border regions. The original grass/gravel airstrip was too short, unpaved, and lacked the safety facilities required to handle larger, more modern aircraft like the ATR-42, which the new airport was designed to accommodate.

The site of the old Waris Airstrip (ID-0329) is now abandoned and fully decommissioned. Satellite imagery confirms the runway is no longer maintained and is being slowly reclaimed by vegetation. It serves no ongoing aviation purpose. All regional air traffic has been redirected to the new Waris Airport (WAJW), located approximately 1.5 kilometers to the northeast.

The old Waris Airstrip was a vital pioneer 'perintis' airfield that served as a critical lifeline for the isolated Waris District, located near the international border with Papua New Guinea. For decades, it was the primary hub for medical evacuations, the delivery of essential supplies (food, medicine, fuel), and the transportation of personnel such as doctors, teachers, missionaries, and government officials. Operations were exclusively handled by Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) aircraft, such as the Cessna Caravan and Pilatus Porter, flown by missionary aviation groups (like MAF) and government-subsidized pioneer flight operators.

There are zero plans or prospects for reopening the old airstrip. It has been rendered permanently obsolete by the new, larger, and safer Waris Airport, which is fully operational and serves all of the region's aviation needs.