Man behind Medan aid dispatch<\/p>\n
Apriadi Gunawan, Contributor, Medan, North Sumatra<\/p>\n
Air Col. Adi Supranto has shown great skill in determining the
\nflight schedules at Medan's Polonia Airport, which, for the last
\nthree weeks, have seen the presence of a great number of foreign
\nmilitary airplanes carrying relief aid to Aceh.<\/p>\n
Adi, the branch head of airport management company PT Angkasa
\nPura II of Polonia Airport in Medan, has of late been busy giving
\nhis full attention to regulating planes landing and taking off
\ncarrying humanitarian aid for Aceh.<\/p>\n
Adi, born in Surakarta 53 years ago, however, says he has
\nnever felt burdened by this hectic job although he adds that it
\nhas never been easy because every country that sends aid to Aceh
\nwould like to see their airplanes fly there as quickly as
\npossible.<\/p>\n
The aid, usually food and medicine, is urgently needed by the
\ntsunami victims.<\/p>\n
A father of four, Adi said that the most important thing to
\nremember to ensure his success in this job was coordination,
\nparticularly in regulating the flight schedule of foreign
\naircraft.<\/p>\n
Without coordination, he said, it was impossible for the great
\nnumber of airplanes parked at Polonia Airport to take off
\nquickly. In the past few weeks, foreign, military and domestic
\nflights from Polonia in Medan to Aceh have reached 250 a day.
\nPrior to the tsunami disaster, the rate stood at 110 to 120 a
\nday.<\/p>\n
"Many foreign parties have complained to us that the tight
\nflight schedule has delayed the flights of their airplanes. In
\nfact, the root cause is that they have not coordinated with us
\nbeforehand," Adi said, adding that foreign parties rarely
\nsubmitted their own flight schedules or said how long it would
\ntake to send their aid. As a result, flights had to be delayed.<\/p>\n
At first, Adi said, it was not easy to keep control over
\nhectic flight activities at Polonia Airport. It took a week to
\nestablish proper coordination with all parties relevant to these
\nactivities.<\/p>\n
"It took us a week to get the pattern with which we could
\novercome this flight chaos. We coordinate with military and the
\ncivilian parties after we obtain their flight schedules. They
\ngive us their schedules and then we regulate the flights," Adi
\ntold The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
He added that this job was the first experience in his career
\nin regulating a great number of wide-bodied airplanes. Graduating
\nfrom the Air Force Academy in 1974 with the rank of second
\nlieutenant, Adi has taken this difficult task in his stride. With
\nsupport from several assistants, he has risen to the challenge.<\/p>\n
"I have been trained in the military to cope with all aviation
\njobs, no matter how difficult or risky they may be," said Adi,
\nwho is also a 1997 graduate of the School of Political Sciences
\nof the Open University.<\/p>\n
Adi said when he began his career in the air force, he was
\nassigned to fly many types of airplanes, including seaplanes,
\nFokkers and Dakotas. In 1980, when he was a captain, he had a
\ndramatic experience.<\/p>\n
He was assigned to fly an airplane that carried First Marshall
\nSudarma, commander of seventh air territory command, from Ambon
\nto Biak, Papua. On the way, the engine suddenly died. Adi, fought
\noff his urge to panic and calmly and safely brought the airplane
\nin to land in Sorong, Papua. No one was hurt in the emergency
\ntouchdown.<\/p>\n
With his tried and tested flying skills, Adi worked as a pilot
\nbetween 1989 and 2002. During that period, he accompanied
\nIndonesian presidents on state visits to 68 countries. Adi did
\nnot fly an airplane but was assigned as a flight safety officer.<\/p>\n
He said he experienced two unforgettable events during this
\nassignment.<\/p>\n
The first occurred in 1994 when he was a lieutenant colonel.<\/p>\n
At that time he was on a flight carrying President Soeharto
\nfrom Iran back to Indonesia. During this flight the crew realized
\nthe airplane had an excess cargo of some 3.7 tons. Unless this
\nexcess cargo was dumped, the fear was that the airplane would
\ncrash. In just 10 minutes Adi made a decision to throw out the
\ncargo.<\/p>\n
A similar event occurred in 2001 when Abdurrahman "Gus Dur"
\nWahid was president. Col. Adi was able to avert disaster on Gus
\nDur's flight from Venezuela to Chile because of his quick
\ndecision to reduce the load of the airplane.<\/p>\n
This may have stemmed from his motto in life: "Be quick but
\naccurate."<\/p>\n
Adi, who is married to Esty MR, has worked successfully in
\nmany aviation jobs to prove his personal philosophy.<\/p>\n
"It will be of no use if you do something fast but
\ninaccurately. We must do everything quickly, accurately and
\ncorrectly," said Adi, who won the 2003 Adi Nugraha award for best
\nperformance in PT Angkasa Pura II.<\/p>\n
He got this award when he was still branch head of Sultan
\nSyarif Kasim II Airport, Pekan Baru. The next year he was
\nappointed branch head of PT Angkasa Pura II Polonia Airport,
\nMedan.<\/p>\n
Apart from this award for best performance in PT Angkasa Pura,
\nAdi, who was in 1992 to 2002 secretary-general of the Indonesian
\nAerosport Federation, has also earned honorary wings from the
\nJapanese government for his success in unifying the ASEAN
\nAerosport Federation.<\/p>\n
Now close to retirement, Adi only hopes that his record of
\nservice to his country is continued by the younger generation.<\/p>\n
"Anybody, including me, will be proud if our younger
\ngeneration can achieve more than we are. This nation needs a
\nstrong spirit and excellent human resources," he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/man-behind-medan-aid-dispatch-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}