Yogyakarta International Airport Tsunami Defenses Strong in Engineering but Vulnerable in Passenger Evacuation Speed

Ilustration by AI 

FORMOSA NEWS

Yogyakarta International Airport (YIA) features excellent physical engineering to survive a major tsunami, but its emergency response protocols suffer from severe passenger evacuation bottlenecks and disconnected communication networks. This critical insight comes from a comprehensive disaster mitigation assessment conducted by a research team at the Indonesia Defense University, including Prastomo Ardi Sudaliyo, Kusuma, Bambang Wahyudi, and Wilopo. Published in the Formosa Journal of Social Sciences (FJSS) in June 2026, the study highlights how crucial it is to address procedural delays to protect the airport's role as a vital humanitarian logistics hub during a regional crisis.

Critical Infrastructure Under Megathrust Threat

The southern coast of Java, specifically the Kulon Progo region where Yogyakarta International Airport is situated, faces a severe threat from seismic hazards. Contemporary seismological models from the Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics (BMKG) indicate a high probability of a megathrust earthquake occurring along the Java Subduction Zone, potentially reaching a magnitude of 8.5 to 9.0.

Such a massive tectonic event would trigger a devastating tsunami. Numerical modeling projects wave inundation heights of 6.5 to 7.0 meters above Mean Sea Level (MSL), with waves pushing up to 2 kilometers inland and directly hitting the airport perimeter. Because the estimated travel time of the wave to the Kulon Progo coast is under 30 minutes, the airport has a remarkably short window to clear the area and protect human lives. If the facility is incapacitated, the entire region of Yogyakarta and Central Java would be cut off from immediate domestic and international emergency relief.

Evaluating Airport Safety Through a Multi-Angle Approach

To understand how prepared the airport is for a real-world disaster, the Indonesia Defense University research team used a descriptive analytical approach paired with an in-depth case study design. The authors evaluated the airport's systems against three core pillars of disaster resilience: structural safety, emergency operational planning, and inter-agency preparedness.

The team gathered and analyzed data using three primary methods:

• Spatial Analysis: Using Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) datasets via Geographic Information System (GIS) software to map the exact elevation of the runway, apron, and terminal buildings against a 7.0-meter tsunami wave.
• Document Review: Evaluating the official Yogyakarta Airport Emergency Plan (AEP), standard operating procedures for early warnings, and the national building codes applied during construction.
• Expert Interviews: Conducting semi-structured discussions with key decision-makers within PT Angkasa Pura I Risk Management, AirNav Indonesia (Air Traffic Control Yogyakarta), and the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of Kulon Progo.

Engineering Strengths Overshadowed by Slow Evacuation Times

The research findings present a striking contrast between the physical strength of the facility and the speed of its operational response.

On the positive side, Yogyakarta International Airport boasts exceptional structural resilience. The facility was built on reclaimed, artificially elevated land, leaving the runway, apron, and passenger terminal at an average height of 7.5 meters above Mean Sea Level. This intentional design sits 0.5 meters above the projected 7.0-meter maximum tsunami wave, shielding the main structures from direct hydrodynamic flooding. Key electronics, primary electrical transformers, diesel generators, and main communication servers are also safe from water damage because they are located on the second and third floors of the terminal building.

However, the operational response reveals serious safety vulnerabilities:

• The 22-Minute Evacuation Bottleneck: The airport terminal is designated as a vertical evacuation structure, but simulations show it takes an average of 22 minutes to move crowds from the public landside areas to the upper floors of the multi-story parking lot.
• Narrow Safety Margins: With a tsunami arrival window of under 30 minutes, a 22-minute mobilization time leaves a margin of less than 8 minutes before waves hit the area. This delay is caused by crowd bottlenecks at emergency stairs and a lack of intuitive, clear signage.
• Manual Warning Disconnection: The internal early warning sirens and public address systems are operated manually by airport staff only after receiving an SMS alert. There is no automated connection between the BMKG wave detection systems and the airport's internal speakers.
• The Inter-Agency Communication Gap: In a major earthquake, public cellular networks face extreme congestion or physical destruction. The research revealed that the airport lacks dedicated satellite communication links to connect its emergency room directly with the local BPBD disaster agency.

Urgent Policy Steps to Secure the Flight Hub

The research highlights that excellent physical engineering is not enough if the human response cannot keep up with the speed of a natural disaster. To protect passengers and ensure the airport remains operational for post-disaster aid, the Indonesia Defense University team recommends immediate policy upgrades. The airport must mandate full-scale tsunami evacuation drills twice a year to streamline crowd movements and optimize runway shutdown times.

Furthermore, the facility needs to invest in redundant, independent communications like VSAT satellite systems to connect operators directly with regional disaster authorities. Finally, installing clear, multilingual evacuation signs that comply with international ISO 22324 standards will allow passengers to move independently toward safety without waiting for staff instructions.

The authors also noted a long-term risk: the Kulon Progo coast is prone to natural soil subsidence. If the land sinks at a projected rate of 1 to 2 centimeters per year, the airport's slim 0.5-meter safety buffer could disappear entirely within two decades, making the runway highly vulnerable to flooding.

"Yogyakarta International Airport demonstrates excellent structural mitigation against the threat of a tsunami due to its high elevation design," the Indonesia Defense University research team concluded. "However, the airport's operational resilience remains vulnerable to human and procedural factors. The speed of mass evacuation protocols... still requires more rigorous optimization."

Author Profiles

• Prastomo Ardi Sudaliyo is a disaster management researcher affiliated with the Indonesia Defense University, specializing in critical infrastructure protection and transport security.
• Kusuma is an engineering academic at the Indonesia Defense University whose research focuses on structural resilience and coastal hazard assessment.
• Bambang Wahyudi is a risk analysis expert at the Indonesia Defense University, specializing in emergency operational planning and crowd logistics during disasters.
• Wilopo, M.Sc. is a senior professor and the corresponding disaster management researcher at the Indonesia Defense University, focusing on inter-agency coordination and national resilience frameworks.

Source Information

Journal Article Title: Tsunami Disaster Mitigation Strategy for Yogyakarta International Airport (YIA)
Journal Name: Formosa Journal of Social Sciences (FJSS)
Publication Year: 2026
Official DOI : https://doi.org/10.55927/fjss.v5i2.9
URL : https://journalfjss.my.id/index.php/fjss/index