How Labuan Bajo’s airport, port and transport system is measured
Labuan Bajo’s access system combines Komodo Airport, the seaport and inland transport. Official data separates aircraft movements from visitor arrivals and covers passenger, freight and safety indicators.
Editor: Mursyid Sonsang
· 2 min read
Labuan Bajo is connected to visitors and goods through two transport gateways: Komodo Airport and the town’s seaport. Official statistics identify air transport as a tracked part of Manggarai Barat’s transport system, while tourism authorities publish separate airport-arrival data, making the town’s access dependent on both land-side and sea-side flows.
What are Labuan Bajo’s main transport gateways?
Komodo Airport is the air gateway serving Labuan Bajo. BPS Manggarai Barat maintains a dedicated statistical table for the number of aircraft flights by month at Komodo Airport, Labuan Bajo, according to BPS, 2024.
The seaport is the other essential gateway for movement around the regency and its surrounding waters. BPS’s transport-statistics system covers air, road, inland-water and sea transport infrastructure, equipment, traffic flows, passenger and freight transport, and road safety, according to BPS Manggarai Barat, 2025.
How is airport activity measured?
Airport activity is recorded through separate measures rather than one single total. BPS publishes monthly aircraft-flight data, while the tourism authority publishes arrival and departure data for domestic and international visitors, according to BPOLBF, 2026.
That distinction matters: a flight count measures aircraft movements, whereas arrival data measures people recorded entering through the airport. The figures answer different questions and should not be treated as interchangeable.
What do the official visitor figures show?
BPOLBF reported 30,848 visitor arrivals in January and 24,449 in February in its published airport-arrival data, according to BPOLBF, 2026. The same release recorded 33,497 departures in January and 26,222 in February.
BPOLBF also reported that arrivals increased by 19.59% year on year in January and by 6.97% in February, according to BPOLBF, 2026. These figures describe recorded visitor movements for the months shown, not the total capacity of Labuan Bajo’s transport system.
Why do the numbers matter for daily life?
Transport statistics cover more than tourism. BPS’s framework includes passenger and freight movement, road traffic, transport infrastructure and safety, so the same gateway system also relates to supplies, local mobility and connections between Labuan Bajo and other parts of Manggarai Barat, according to BPS Manggarai Barat, 2025.
For readers assessing the town as a port, airport and working settlement, the key point is that no single statistic captures all movement. Aircraft flights, airport passengers, sea transport, roads and freight are separate components of the official transport picture.
Sources
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