Papua New Guinea`s Mt. Manam Erupts; Merauke Airport Closed
1 August 2015 11:10 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Merauke - Following the eruption of Mount Manam in Papua New Guinea (PNG), activities at Merauke airport in Papua have been disrupted.
Head of Merauke airport Asri Santoso said that the airport had been closed since Friday evening (31/7) at 10 pm local time after the airport received a report on volcanic ashes from Mount Manam in PNG carried by the wind to the west.
"I can confirm that since Friday evening, we have closed the airport because of the impacts of the eruption considering that many planes fly above Merauke," Asri said on Saturday (1/8).
Asri added that activities at the airport until now have been suspended are expected to go back to normal again starting 10:00 local time.
Due to the closure, because flights from and to Merauke had been cancelled or delayed.
Every day, in addition to serving small airplanes such as Cessna, Merauke airport serves flights to villages and districts as well as towns nearby such as Okaba, Tanah Merah, and Ewer.
ANTARA