Airport reopens after two-day closure<\/p>\n
Suherjoko, The Jakarta Post, Semarang<\/p>\n
Flights into and out of Ahmad Yani Airport in Semarang, Central
\nJava, returned to normal on Sunday morning after a Garuda plane
\nthat skidded off the runway two days ago was lifted from the
\nscene, officials said.<\/p>\n
The Boeing 737, arriving from Jakarta, skidded off the runway
\namid bad weather at around 7:40 p.m. on Friday during landing.<\/p>\n
There were no reports of casualties or injuries. But the
\naccident caused panic among its 97 passengers.<\/p>\n
The Garuda GA 252 PK-GGC, piloted by Capt. Alamsyah and
\nNugroho, left Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta Airport at around 6:15
\np.m. on the same day. It arrived in Semarang during an electrical
\nstorm.<\/p>\n
The plane's front wheel was buried in the mud on one side of
\nthe runway.<\/p>\n
The accident forced authorities to close Ahmad Yani Airport
\nfor two days until Sunday morning.<\/p>\n
It resumed operations at around 9 a.m. on Sunday after a team
\nfrom the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) managed
\nto lift the plane from the runway 30 minutes earlier.<\/p>\n
A Garuda GA 232 and a Mandala 210, both flying between
\nSemarang and Jakarta, as well as a Merpati M-2726 flying from
\nSemarang to Surabaya were the first three planes to take off from
\nAhmad Yani Airport after the evacuation.<\/p>\n
The local airport authorities had to bring in a crane from
\nJakarta to lift the plane from the runway as the efforts had been
\nhampered by the condition of the soil there following the heavy
\nrainfall.<\/p>\n
The plane is now parked in a hangar, located some 150 meters
\nfrom the scene.<\/p>\n
Cucuk Suryo Suprojo, the air transportation director-general
\nat the Ministry of Transportation and Communications who
\nwitnessed the operation, admitted here on Sunday the plane was in
\nno condition to fly after the accident.<\/p>\n
He said a team from his office was investigating the exact
\ncause of the accident.<\/p>\n
Ahmad Yanir Airport chief executive Nyoman Sukarja said on
\nSaturday that at least 15 flights from Semarang to Jakarta and
\nSurabaya were canceled due to the accident.<\/p>\n
The flights were rerouted to Adisumarmo Airport in the
\nneighboring city of Surakarta, he added.<\/p>\n
The closure of the Semarang airport prompted the number of
\nrail passengers from the Central Java capital to Surabaya to
\nincrease by almost 100 percent on Saturday, railway officials
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The number of train passengers traveling to Jakarta also rose
\nby around 20 percent on the same day, he added.<\/p>",
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