I have already talked a lot about how great I feel Makassar Airport, or rather the Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport (IATA: UPG) is, but on my most recent visit they took things to a whole new level.
At the Blue Sky Lounge Makassar it turns out they had seen some of my TikTok videos and, well, they liked what they saw. I therefore got the full on VIP treatment. That notwithstanding, even without VIP treatment this is just a bloody good lounge.
Click to read my thoughts on Makassar Airport.
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What the Blue Sky Lounge?
Blue Sky Lounge is part of Blue Sky Group, an Indonesian hospitality company whose history goes back to the opening of the Blue Sky Hotel in Balikpapan in 1973. The group moved into airport lounges in 2003, when it began managing Premier and Executive Lounges at Indonesian airports.
Today Blue Sky Lounge operates at more than 11 airports around Indonesia, including Jakarta, Bali, Surabaya, Makassar, Balikpapan, Samarinda, Batam, Pontianak, Palembang and Pekanbaru. The company has also partnered with Airport Dimensions, which acquired a 45% stake in its airport lounge business in 2025.
Blue Sky Lounge Makassar
Makassar Airport, while brilliant, has been going through some renovations. This means that the Blue Sky lounge is now just after security, rather than near the gates. This means that if you are gates 1-3 it’s a long bloody walk. On this occasion this was not an issue as Blue Sky Lounge Makassar arranged me a buggy, driven by the manager of the lounge to the gate! Oh and the flight was late anyway.
The lounge itself has live cooking, an all-you-can-eat buffet, premium coffee, free Wi-Fi, a coworking area, executive toilets, shower room, prayer room, VIP room and buggy service. There is also a smoking lounge with capacity for up to 60 people, which is apparently the biggest in the entire Blue Sky network. There is even a separate prayer room and breastfeeding room.
As well as quite literally a chef to cook for you and great food, but also an insanely HUGE smoking area. I do love how this is seen more as a human right than a privilege in Indonesia. Oh and wherever you are, such as Bali and of course Makassar they have lovely girls that are waiting in uniform to escort you to the lounge. Its honestly just a great touch.
Click to read my thoughts on Indonesian cuisine.
The VIP treatment at Blue Sky Lounge Makassar
OK, so they wanted a good review and a nice video, but how I was treated was absolutely insane. Firstly I was brought a welcome card by the manager, in Bahasa of course, but nice nonetheless. I was then introduced to the chef who went ahead and cooked me a speciality meal of local noodles and fish.
This was like a very good meal at a restaurant, not something knocked up in a domestic lounge. But, even if they don’t VIP you there’s still a chef who will cook up things like Mie Goreng with a bunch of egg options and the like. Really decent scran! The staff also hung out, asked a bunch of questions, took some photos and we just had a good time tbh.
And when it was all over they drove me to my gate. Therefore I declare The Blue Sky Lounge Makassar the best domestic airport lounge I have honestly ever been to, with, or without the VIP service!