TEMPO.CO, Ternate – Babullah Airport in Ternate, North Maluku is shut down on Friday, December 19, 2014 after Mount Gamalama erupted on Thursday night.
Babullah Airport head Taslim Badaruddin said the closure began at 09:00 Eastern Indonesia Time and would last until further notice. He explained that the airport’s runway was blanketed with five-centimeter-thick volcanic ash. “It’s very dangerous for planes for take-off and landing,” he said.
Mount Gamalama is still spewing volcanic ash that blow across Ternate, forcing Babullah Airport, which is located on the slope of the mountain, to halt operations.
The airport’s authorities are now coordinating with multiple parties, including the Ternate administration, to clean the airport’s runway. Taslim said the airport’s activities would resume once the runway had been rid of volcanic ash.
FERY F. | ANT