Those Who Cannot Go Home Due To Floods In The Capital City

Photo illustration (Yudhistira Mahabharata / VOI)

JAKARTA - Swara Setia (24) and four members of his entourage had to endure disappointment because they could not immediately return to the capital city of DKI Jakarta after the Christmas and New Year homecoming from Solo, Central Java.

The reason is that his flight from Adi Soemarmo Airport, Boyolali, Central Java to Halim Perdanakusuma, East Jakarta was canceled by the airline because the airport was the destination of flooding due to the rain that hit Jakarta from Tuesday, December 31 to Wednesday, January 1.

"Earlier, we had a 2 hour delay, only around 9:15 WIB we were told that the flight was interrupted due to flooding," Swara said when contacted by VOI reporters, Wednesday, January 1.

He admitted that his disappointment was not only because he canceled his return to Jakarta. He also experienced this disappointment because he felt that the information provided by the airline was taking so long. In fact, the Citilink plane with flight number QG121 originally departed at 08.15 WIB.

Swara, who is an employee at one of these ministries, said that now he has got a new ticket to go to Jakarta. However, he had to depart from another city. This method, he said, was also taken by many other potential passengers.

"Already got a ticket, Garuda (Indonesia) from Semarang to Jakarta," he said, adding that tickets canceled by airlines could be refunded even though they had to be deducted by 10 percent of the existing ticket prices.

Previously, floods hit a number of areas in the DKI Jakarta area and paralyzed a number of public transportation. At Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, 30 cm of water still inundates the runway or runway of the plane. The inundated area is approximately 500 meters.

Floods also inundated areas outside the airport which made it difficult for passengers to access Halim Airport. As a result, a number of flight schedules had to be canceled.

"For security and safety reasons, our activities at Halim Perdana Kusuma are temporarily closed until an undetermined time. All flights from Halim are diverted to Soetta (CGK), "said Director General of Civil Aviation at the Ministry of Transportation Polana Banguningsih Pramesti in a written statement, Wednesday, January 1.

Not only did it cripple Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, the floods also forced five Transjakarta corridors to stop operating. Corridors that stopped operating were Corridor 2 Pulogadung - Harmoni, Corridor 3 Kalideres - Pasar Baru, Corridor 8 Lebak Bulus - Harmoni, Corridor 9 Pluit - Pinang Ranti, and Corridor 10 Tanjung Priok - Cililitan.

Meanwhile, corridors that are still operating normally are Corridor 1 Blok M - Kota, Corridor 4 Pulogadung - Dukuh Atas, Corridor 7 of Kampung Melayu - Kampung Rambutan, Corridor 11 of Kampung Melayu - East Jakarta Mayor Office, and Corridor 12 Penjaringan - Tanjung Priok.

"Corridor 5 Trans Jakarta serves the Ancol - Kampung Melayu route. Meanwhile, Corridor six on the Dukuh Atas - Ragunan route only reaches the Setia Budi Aini bus stop," said PT Transjakarta spokesman Nadio Diposanjoyo via short message.