Operational Sam Ratulangi Airport Normal Again, Authorities Still Monitor The Development Of Mount Ruangan

Sam Ratulangi Airport (Photo: AP)

JAKARTA - Sam Ratulangi International Airport in Manado, has been operating normally again starting today. Operating for the return of the airport is in line with the activity of Mount Ruangan which has decreased to Level III or standby.

The announcement was accompanied by information Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) number A1054/24 NOTAMC A1041/24.

Just for inFORmation, the operation of Sam Ratulangi Airport in Manado has been closed since April 16 because volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Ruangan disrupted flight activities.

Head of the Manado VIII Airport Authority Office, Ambar Suryoko, said that the opening of the operation of Sam Ratulangi International Airport was decided based on the results of the paper test which showed negative Volcanic Ash (VA).

"Alhamdulillah, Sam Ratulangi Airport has returned to normal," he said in an official statement, Monday, April 22.

Ambar also explained that the airport operation was opened because the activity level of Mount Ruang had decreased to Level III and the results of the paper test showed that the distribution of volcanic ash around Sam Ratulangi Airport was negative.

Even so, Ambar said that he would continue to monitor and intensively monitor the latest developments in Mount Ruang by involving Perum, the Indonesian Aviation Navigation Service Provider (Perum LPPNPI) or AirNav Indonesia, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG), and airport organizers and other related parties.

"We will continue to update the latest developments on the eruption of Mount Ruang and always coordinate intensively with aviation stakeholders, especially related to passenger services by the Air Transport Business Entity (BUAU)," he said.

Ambar ensured that in handling the force majeure situation, the policies taken were for the safety, security and comfort of the flights.

"We still have to be aware of the impact of volcanic ash and hopefully the public can understand that airport operations will open and close because they adjust the current conditions," he said.