Abd Saleh Airport in Malang Closed Following Mt Kelud Eruption

Malang, East Java (Antara)- The eruption of Mount Kelud has affected the operation of Abdul Saleh Airport, which was closed on Friday, as no plane would land at the airport following the disaster. Mount Kelud's volcanic ash did not reach the Abdul Saleh airport and visibility was normal, but the airport was affected by the closure of the Juanda Airport in Surabaya and the cancellations of flights from Jakarta, said Suharno, a representative of the Abdul Saleh airport management, here on Friday. Unlike the Abdul Saleh airport, the Juanda Airport in Surabaya was covered by volcanic ash from the eruption in Mount Kelud, he added. "There is no problem with our runway, and the weather is also fine here. The Abdul Saleh airport is not covered with ash. However, the problem is that flight routes from Jakarta and Surabaya have been cancelled. So, we are currently monitoring the developments in Jakarta and Surabaya," he remarked. The closure of the airport in Malang has also affected several football matches of the Indonesian League scheduled to be organized in Malang and nearby cities, such as Kediri. Mount Kelud erupted on Thursday night, spewing molten lava and black smoke. The molten lava was seen clearly from the sub-district of Talun, in Blitar, East Java, about 15-20 kilometers from the mountain. An Antara reporter from Blitar stated that people were seen running from their homes, and some had hit electricity poles to alert others that the mountain had erupted. The Vulcanology and Geology Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) had warned people of the threat from Mount Kelud before it erupted at 10:56 p.m. on Thursday. The national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said some 200 thousand people from 36 villages in a 10-kilometer area around Kelud in Kediri district, eastern Java, have been told to evacuate. (*)