TEMPO.CO, Tangerang - State airlines Garuda Indonesia has canceled flights en route to and from Yogyakarta due to the volcano Mount Merapi eruption on Friday, May 11. As the result of the eruption, Adisutjipto Airport in Yogyakarta is also closed.
“Based on both notifications, several flights of Garuda Indonesia heading to and from Yogyakarta today have been canceled,” said Garuda Indonesia Vice President Corporate Secretary, Hengki Heriandono, in a press release received by Tempo.
Hengki said the cancellation is done based on a safety reason since the volcanic ashes highly likely to interrupt the flights.
Garuda has canceled eight round trip flights, namely GA253/252/11MAY Denpasar – Yogyakarta, GA206/207/11MAY Jakarta – Yogyakarta, GA208/209/11MAY Jakarta – Yogyakarta, and GA664/665/11MAY Balikpapan – Yogyakarta.
Read: Mount Merapi Erupts BNPB Urges Sleman Residents to Evacuate
According to Hengki, his office has provided the alternatives for the affected passengers. They can reschedule the flight, change the route, or refund the ticket in accordance with the applicable regulation.
“Garuda Indonesia will keep on monitoring the latest situation of Mount Merapi's activity, especially the spread of volcanic ashes which can interfere with the flight's safety,” he said.
Yogyakarta volcano Mount Merapi spewed phreatic eruption today at 07:32 local times with a height of 5,500 meters from the top of the crater. The eruption blasted volcanic ash from the summit.
Head of National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the eruption occurred for a short time and considered that it is not dangerous. "This type of eruption is not dangerous and it can happen anytime to any active volcanos."
Zara Amelia
