Adisutjipto Airport Temporarily Closed After Merapi Eruption

 Sleman, Yogyakarta (Antaranews Jatim) - Adisutjipto International Airport in Yogyakarta Province is temporarily closed until 4:00 pm local time, Friday, following the phreatic eruption at Mount Merapi this morning.

"In accordance with the notice to airmen (NOTAM) No. B3567 Year 2018, the airport is closed because of the volcano's eruption this morning," said Yohanes Sirait, spokesperson of State-owned air navigation firm, Flight Navigation Service (AirNav).

Following the move, eight domestic and international flights were delayed.  These were Silk Air No. SLK 151 en route Yogyakarta-Singapura; Express Air No. XN 830 Yogyakarta-Pontianak; Lion Air No. JT 276 Yogyakarta-Pekanbaru; Nam Air No. IN 080 Yogyakarta-Palembang; Citilink No. QG 783 Yogyakarta-Halim Perdanakusuma (Jakarta); Wings Air No. IW 1844 Yogyakarta-Surabaya; Lion Air No. JT 565 Yogyakarta-Soekarno Hatta (Jakarta); and Sriwijaya Air No. SJ 231 Yogyakarta- Soekarno Hatta (Jakarta).

"Another return-to-base flight that got delayed was Batik Air No. ID 7531 en route to Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta," said Sirait.

However, no flight was diverted to the nearby Adisoemarmo Airport in Solo, Central Java. "We have not yet received any notices (on the flight diversion), but we are ready to support the operations at Adisutjipto International Airport (in Yogyakarta)," said Purwanto, service department manager of the state-owned airport operator, PT Angkasa Pura (AP) I in Solo.

The two airport operators have maintained communications following the eruption that occurred at 07:40 am local time.
Ranty Astari Rachman, Vice-President Corporate Secretary and CSR, Citilink Indonesia, said the airline
had carefully followed the updates and information on the eruption.

"Our priority is the safety of the passengers. Citilink Indonesia has a contingency plan," she noted. She suggested that passengers whose flights got cancelled reschedule the tickets. The airline, Rachman said, would not charge an additional fee for such rerouting and rescheduling requests.

Besides, the airline will also give a full refund to the passengers who wished to cancel their flights on Friday.

"For further information (on the full refund and rescheduling procedure), Citilink passengers can contact the hotline service at 0804-1-080808," she said.

After the eruption, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) confirmed there were no casualties. However, the Sleman Disaster Mitigation Office (BPBD) has asked residents and climbers to avoid an area within five kilometers of the crater.

Situated in the four sub-districts of Klaten, Magelang, Boyolali, and Sleman, Mount Merapi spewed ash and smoke.(*)