Indefinite Flights, Passengers Advised to Take Trains
15 February 2014 16:26 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The eruption of Mount Kelud has caused flights on the island of Java to be disrupted since Friday, February 14. It has been confirmed since Saturday morning, flights to Central and Java, and Yogyakarta has not recovered yet because of the spreading of volcanic ash.
The Transportation Ministry's spokesman, Bambang S. Erva, said the airports' status in Java is still being evaluated. "Passengers who have emergency purposes are advised to take trains or cars," he said when contacted by Tempo, Saturday, February 15.
This is because flights from Soekarno-Hatta airport really depend on the condition of other airports in Java. Up to this moment, it has been confirmed that Adi Sumarmo airport, Solo, and Adi Sucipto airport, Yogyakarta will not be operating on Saturday. Adi Sumarmo will only start operating on Monday, February 17 at 06:00 local time. Meanwhile, Adi Sucipto airport, will open on Sunday, February 16 at 07:30 local time.
"That is with the record of no more eruption from Mount Kelud, hopefully there is no change," he said. According to Bambang, Yogyakarta and Solo have the worst impact from the volcanic ash. It also takes a long time to clean the airports from ashes.
ANGGRITA DESYANI