TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Garuda Indonesia has cancelled its' flight from Surabaya to Jember services from Jember's Notohadinegoro airport in East Java on Tuesday, Augsut 11, 2015, despite the fact that the airport remains open for regular passenger services.
"Garuda Indonesia has decided to not serve the route today due to operational reasons, and has advised passengers of the cancellation," said Garuda Indonesia's Manager for Jember, Syamsul Adnan.
Adnan refuses to go into further details about the cancellation of the services, which is operated by an ATR72-600 aircraft with a capacity of 70 passengers.
"We apologize for not being able to provide any further details relating to the cancellation, but the cancellation is strictly due to operational reasons," said Adnan.
According to Adnan, Mount Raung's fluctuating volcanic activity has often caused mayhem in Garuda Indonesia's daily operating schedule, so it often has had to wait for further instructions from Jakarta. "Once, we received a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) that said that we could operate normally once the airport opens in the morning - when in fact the volcanic ash was blowing towards the airport, which made operations unsafe," Adnan said.
The eruption of Mount Raung is known to have disrupted scores of regular passenger services and wreaked havoc in several airports, including Jember's Notohadinegoro Airport. "Cancellations must be made known to passengers at least one day in advance, so that's why we announced this cancellation," said Adnan.
The cancellation of services have been confirmed by Notohadinegoro Airport's Operational Manager, Adi Purnomo, who said that the airport remains open, but Garuda had to cancel their service anyways due to operational reasons. "The airport remains unaffected by Mount Raung's ashes," said Purnomo.
ANTARANEWS