Sultan Iskandar Muda International Airport also called Banda Aceh International Airport is the airport located 13,5 kilometres southeast of the capital of Aceh province, Banda Aceh. It is named after the twelfth sultan of Aceh, Iskandar Muda. This airport was formerly called Blangbintang Airport(Indonesian: Bandara Blangbintang), referred to its location in a district with same name. This airport is listed as the 23rd busiest airport in Indonesia.
After being hit by a devastating tsunami on 26 December 2004, the airport underwent renovation and a 3000-metre runway for wide-body jet liners was built. On 9 October 2011 the first Boeing 747-400 landed and took off successfully at the airport. This airport can act as a place of refugee in case of natural disasters, such as tsunami. The airport was also used as a staging ground for international emergency aid in response to the tsunami in Aceh.
