Minangkabau International Airport Closed Due To Mount Marapi Eruption, 29 Flooders Affected

Illustration - Minangkabau International Airport in Padang, West Sumatra. BETWEEN/HO-Kemenhub

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (Ditjen Hubud) of the Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) has instructed Minangkabau International Airport Padang to be temporarily closed as a mitigation measure due to the ash of Mount Marapi which was detected through field observations.

Direktur Jenderal Perhubungan Udara, M. Kristi Endah Murni menyatakan keputusan penutupan ini diambil dengan pertimbangan utama terhadap keselamatan penerbangan.

"Based on information, the ash of this volcano has an impact on twenty-nine flights. As a result, one flight must return to the airport of origin or return to base and another must divert the landing to another airport," Kristi said as quoted by ANTARA, Friday, January 5.

Kristi said that the airport closure was announced today through Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) with Number B0030/24 NOTAMN starting at 10.45 WIB until further notice, because the reason for flight safety is that the spread of volcanic ash can endanger and stop the work of aircraft engines.

The Ministry of Transportation through the Airport Authority Region VI Padang will continue to monitor and monitor the development of the situation in the form of field observations carried out with intervals of 30 minutes to 1 hour at several points around the airport.

With the force majeure situation, Kristi then appealed to airlines to compensate passengers who had purchased tickets, including full refund, reschedule, or re-route options to the nearest airport if the availability of seats was still available.

According to him, this is expected to help passengers affected by airport closures.

"We are committed to continuing to monitor the situation and coordinate with relevant stakeholders in handling this force majeure in order to take the necessary steps for the safety, security and comfort of flights," he said.