Saturday, February 02, 2008
Multa Fidrus
The Jakarta Post, Tangerang
Bad weather and heavy rain saw the temporary closure of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Friday and air traffic across several cites grounded or diverted.
The international airport was closed from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with 58 flights re-routed and 177 delayed.
The 58 flights were diverted to five other airports including Halim Perdanakusuma in East Jakarta, Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II in Palembang, Ahmad Yani in Semarang, Juanda in Surabaya and Changi in Singapore.
"The runways were closed because of cloud hanging over the (Soekarno-Hatta) airport area and visibility was less than 300 meters, while it should be more than 500 meters," the airport's executive general manager Haryanto said.
He said the southern part of the airport's runway was submerged in waters up to 50 centimeters high, making it impossible to allow airplanes to land.
Haryanto said estimates of losses caused by the long delays had yet to be made.
Thousands of passengers stranded at airports said they experienced delays and diversions as well as poor service from airport management.
At Halim Perdanakusuma, passengers said information from the ground units was not well managed.
A passenger, Fernando, who arrived from Balikpapan at 11 a.m. at the airport, was not allowed to leave the airplane he was on until 2 p.m.
"We were hungry, it was crowded, everyone was stressed, I just don't understand why it had to take so long," he said.
"It makes me question the nation's ability to cope with emergency situations such as this."
At the Sultan Mahmud Badarudin II airport in Palembang, passengers who were forced to land at the airport added to the crowds of passengers at the airport whose flights had already been delayed.
The overcrowded rooms at the airport saw some passengers need to wait alongside airplanes on the airport's runway.
Only at the Ahmad Yani airport in Semarang did management offer lunch to stranded passengers.
Even airports that did not receive re-routed Jakarta-bound flights continued to experience chaotic air traffic.
Flight delays to Jakarta at Hang Nadim airport in Batam saw some 1,000 passengers stranded at the airport while other travelers canceled trips to Jakarta because of the floods.
The impromptu arrivals of the rerouted airplanes also caused delays to several scheduled flights.
In Adi Sucipto airport in Yogyakarta, the delay of local flights included a cargo of 2 tons of fresh chili bound for Batam.
The regular flight provides a supply of daily chili and usually makes a transit stop in Jakarta before leaving for Batam.
The cargo freight handler that deals with the chili shipping, Wisnu, said the cancellation would cause millions of rupiah in losses.
"But we can't do anything with this kind of incident. Maybe the best thing is to just accept it," he said.
Multa Fidrus
The Jakarta Post, Tangerang
Bad weather and heavy rain saw the temporary closure of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Friday and air traffic across several cites grounded or diverted.
The international airport was closed from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with 58 flights re-routed and 177 delayed.
The 58 flights were diverted to five other airports including Halim Perdanakusuma in East Jakarta, Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II in Palembang, Ahmad Yani in Semarang, Juanda in Surabaya and Changi in Singapore.
"The runways were closed because of cloud hanging over the (Soekarno-Hatta) airport area and visibility was less than 300 meters, while it should be more than 500 meters," the airport's executive general manager Haryanto said.
He said the southern part of the airport's runway was submerged in waters up to 50 centimeters high, making it impossible to allow airplanes to land.
Haryanto said estimates of losses caused by the long delays had yet to be made.
Thousands of passengers stranded at airports said they experienced delays and diversions as well as poor service from airport management.
At Halim Perdanakusuma, passengers said information from the ground units was not well managed.
A passenger, Fernando, who arrived from Balikpapan at 11 a.m. at the airport, was not allowed to leave the airplane he was on until 2 p.m.
"We were hungry, it was crowded, everyone was stressed, I just don't understand why it had to take so long," he said.
"It makes me question the nation's ability to cope with emergency situations such as this."
At the Sultan Mahmud Badarudin II airport in Palembang, passengers who were forced to land at the airport added to the crowds of passengers at the airport whose flights had already been delayed.
The overcrowded rooms at the airport saw some passengers need to wait alongside airplanes on the airport's runway.
Only at the Ahmad Yani airport in Semarang did management offer lunch to stranded passengers.
Even airports that did not receive re-routed Jakarta-bound flights continued to experience chaotic air traffic.
Flight delays to Jakarta at Hang Nadim airport in Batam saw some 1,000 passengers stranded at the airport while other travelers canceled trips to Jakarta because of the floods.
The impromptu arrivals of the rerouted airplanes also caused delays to several scheduled flights.
In Adi Sucipto airport in Yogyakarta, the delay of local flights included a cargo of 2 tons of fresh chili bound for Batam.
The regular flight provides a supply of daily chili and usually makes a transit stop in Jakarta before leaving for Batam.
The cargo freight handler that deals with the chili shipping, Wisnu, said the cancellation would cause millions of rupiah in losses.
"But we can't do anything with this kind of incident. Maybe the best thing is to just accept it," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment