TEMPO.CO, Kupang - The El Tari Air Force Base in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) released Monday at 10.45 p.m. a Saudi Arabian airplane following the completion of its licensing documentation.
“We have released the aircraft last night because they have quickly completed their flight permits,” airbase commander Col. Andi Wijaya told Tempo on Tuesday, November 4, 2014.
The Gulfstream IV aircraft, piloted by Waleed Abdul Azis, was forced to land at the airbase by two Indonesian Sukhoi fighter jets for flying in the Indonesian airspace bereft of permits.
The airport authorities fined the airplane crews Rp60 million for the violation. “That’s the affair of the airport authorities, not ours,” Andi said.
The airplane, bearing flight number HZ-03, was spotted by the Indonesian Air Force radar in Makassar and was forced to land at the airbase, which is located 82 miles of the province’s capital of Kupang.
The airplane carried 13 passengers—seven of them were Saudi Arabian government officials who were on duty to prepare an upcoming visit by the Saudi Arabian prince to Australia.
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