Erupsi Gunung Semeru Belum Ganggu Operasian Bandara Malang, Banyuwangi Sampai Surabaya

Illustration of Banyuwangi Airport in East Java. BETWEEN/HO-Kemenhub

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Transportation ensures that flight operations at the airport around Mount Semeru, including Abdulrachman Saleh Airport, Banyuwangi Airport and Juanda Airport in Surabaya continue to operate normally.

Acting Director General of Civil Aviation Nur Isnin Istiartono continues to coordinate and monitor intensively regarding the development of information after the eruption of Mount Semeru, in order to ensure the safety and security of flights at the nearest airport.

"Yesterday, we immediately coordinated with Abdulrachman Saleh Airport, Banyuwangi Airport and Juanda Airport after the news of the eruption of Mount Semeru. From the information received, the flight is still running normally," said Nur Isnin in a statement in Jakarta, Tuesday, December 6, as reported by Antara.

He said, in the context of improving flight safety against volcanic eruptions and handling the impact of volcanic ash on flight safety operations, since 2019 the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has built a web-based information technology system in providing integrated aeronautical information through I-WISH (Integrated Webbased aeronautical Information System Handling) as outlined in the Decree of the Director General of Air Transportation Number KP 153 of 2019.

In this I-WISH system, stakeholders involved such as AirNav Indonesia, Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG), the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Airport Authority Office, Airlines, Airport Business Entity and Airport Administrators, can convey all information regarding handling volcanic ash or better known as CDM (Collaborative Decision Making).

Through information from Ash Notice to Airmen (Ashtam) published by AirNav Indonesia on December 4, 2022 at 06.40 WIB, it was informed that the distribution of volcanic ash from Mount Semeru was heading southwest at a speed of 20 knots.

For this reason, several airports above need intensive monitoring.

Nur Isnin appealed to the Airport Authority Office Region III Surabaya and related stakeholders to remain alert and monitor the latest developments after the eruption of Mount Semeru, to ensure flight safety and security.

"Especially Abdulrachman Saleh Malang Airport, it was indeed affected by volcanic ash but it did not make the airport closed, flight operations continued to run normally. We will continue to monitor intensively and prepare mitigation steps according to the rules," he said.