TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Deputy for Meteorology at the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Guswanto, emphasized the paramount importance of early detection and aviation weather information for ensuring the safety of flights following the eruption of Mount Ruang in North Sulawesi.

He warned that volcanic ash could potentially inflict damage upon jet engines, thereby endangering the aviation sector. “So early detection and aviation weather information is crucial for flight safety,” Guswanto said in a press release on Friday, April 19.

Since the first eruption of Ruang volcano on Tuesday evening, April 14, the Ujung Pandang Meteorological Watch Office (MWO) at the Sultan Hasanuddin Meteorological Station in Makassar has issued at least 21 significant early weather warnings for flights related to volcanic ash (SIGMET VA).

The Sam Ratulangi Meteorological Station has also issued an early warning for volcanic ash at the airport (Aerodrome Warning VA) on April 18 at 01:00 UTC, or 09:00 Central Indonesia Time (WITA).

The Indonesian Aviation Navigation Service Organizing Agency (Airnav Indonesia) responded to these warnings by issuing a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) for the closure of Sam Ratulangi Airport in Manado, which is expected to last until April 19 at 10:00 UTC or 18:00 WITA.

Dhira Utama, head of the Sam Ratulangi Meteorological Station, said that BMKG had issued an aerodrome warning at 06:30 WITA, highlighting that the ash plume had a horizontal width of about 10 kilometers and was predicted to last until 16:10 WITA with a tendency to weaken.

Given the potential enormity of the consequences, Dhira emphasized that airlines are advised to regularly update information on the impact of the spread of volcanic ash.

“This [information] is critical and can be used as reference data to determine flight routes and avoid flight areas affected by the eruption of Mount Ruang,” he remarked.

The volcanic ash was predicted to affect the aviation airspace around Mount Ruang and spread to the airspace in several locations, including North Maluku Province, North Sulawesi, Gorontalo, northern Central Sulawesi, and parts of Kalimantan Island.

IRSYAN HASYIM (CONTRIBUTOR)

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