Halim Airport Asphalt Peeled Off: 08.05 Receiving Report, 08.45 Runway Can Be Used

Illustration of runway (Photo by Brent Cox on Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Repairs to the runway on the south side of Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, Jakarta, which was previously peeling off, have been completed.

"Regarding the condition of the runway at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, the Ministry of Transportation through the Directorate General of Civil Aviation today at 8.05 WIB received initial information that there was asphalt peeling on the south side of the runway," said the Head of International Cooperation Section, Public Relations, and General of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Mokhammad Khusnu in a written statement, Monday 16 January.

After receiving the report, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation coordinated with related parties, including the contractor for the repair of the runway.

"Immediately after receiving the report, cleaning and coordination was carried out immediately between related parties including contractors, especially for the preparation of materials and equipment for repairs. At 08.45 WIB the runway was back in operation," said Khusnu as quoted from Antara.

Regarding this incident, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation asked all aviation stakeholders to always prioritize aspects of aviation safety and security and always improve services for the convenience of users of air transportation services.

Previously, in October 2022, while attending the inauguration ceremony for the revitalization of facilities at the Indonesian Air Force Base (Lanud)/Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, the Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi said that the Air Force Base and Halim Perdanakusuma Airport were vital objects, but previously they were not well maintained.

"From our mapping, there are at least three main things that have happened here. First, the runway is very fragile because it is easily peeled off due to age, secondly, it turns out that the water management of this airport is not good," Budi said at the time.

The third problem is the inadequate waiting room for the president, vice president, and state guests.

"A place where the president and VVIP are supposed to be premium, are unable to represent Indonesia as a big one, that's why the President ordered me, at that time in December, six months had to be completed so we had to design, look for operators, and others with an allocation of IDR 600 billion ," said Budi.

Runway revitalization and water management work can be completed within 4 months.