Mount Raung's Volcanic Ash Reaches Banyuwangi Airport, A Number Of Airlines Cancel Flights

JAKARTA - Banyuwangi Airport, East Java, on Sunday, February 7, was temporarily closed due to the spread of volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Raung.

"We received a notice to airmen (notam) from Airnav Indonesia for the closure of Banyuwangi Airport today from 08:50 WIB to 14:50 today," said Executive General Manager of PT Angkasa Pura II (Persero) KC Banyuwangi Airport, Cin Asmoro. Among.

Previously, based on the results of observations, Mount Raung's volcanic ash had reached Banyuwangi Airport.

"Data from BMKG shows that the direction of the ash bursts is to the east, which means to the airport area, supported by a paper test which results are also positive. So we report this to the Surabaya airport authority region 3, a decision was made for our airport to close starting around 8:30 WIB this morning , "he said.

On Sunday morning, Banyuwangi Airport was still operating, serving Citilink commercial aircraft from Surabaya, continuing to Denpasar and Citilink on the Jakarta-Banyuwangi route.

"This morning the flight schedule was still normal. From Surabaya there was Citilink which continued to Ngurah Rai. However, after that it was interrupted. Citilink on the Jakarta route, which is scheduled to depart from Banyuwangi at 08:10 WIB today, is delayed, waiting for the development of the ash distribution conditions," he said. .

As of this Sunday, Banyuwangi Airport actually serves five flight routes. Namely, Citilink Surabaya to Denpasar (PP), then three flights from Jakarta, Soekarno Hatta Airport (CGK) -Banyuwangi (BWX) back and forth which are served by three airlines, namely Citilink, Garuda Indonesia and Batik Air.

"Citilink Jakarta route is still waiting for further developments. It should have flown this morning, but due to unfavorable conditions for a while the position has been delayed,"

"Until now there has been no decision to cancel flights from the airline. Citilink is still waiting for further developments. We also continue to monitor the paper test every 30 minutes to see the development of the spread of ash," said Cin Asmoro.

He explained that three commercial aircraft stated that they had canceled operations at Banyuwangi Airport, namely Garuda Indonesia and Batik Air, with the Jakarta (CGK) -Banyuwangi (BWX) route for this Sunday, and Citilink on the Denpasar-Banyuwangi-Surabaya route.

Until now, Banyuwangi Airport is still waiting for the development of Mount Raung's volcanic ash distribution, whether the airport closure will be extended until Monday, February 8 tomorrow or not.