Flight services may be moved to Halim
Flight services may be moved to Halim
TANGERANG (JP): The government and authorities of Soekarno-
Hatta International Airport are considering temporarily moving
several flight services to Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in
East Jakarta, an airport official said on Thursday.
"The idea to (temporarily) move some flights to Halim
Perdanakusuma airport came from Minister of Communications Lt.
Gen. Agum Gumelar," Haryadi Abidin, administrator of the
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, said at his office.
Haryadi said Agum would hold a meeting with officials
involved, including the director general of air transportation
and administrators and managers of several airports, on Friday to
discuss alternatives to deal with disruption after part of the
toll road to Soekarno-Hatta airport was inundated in recent days.
Haryadi did not disclose whether the government or his office
set a deadline for implementing the plan.
Floodwaters covered 2.5 kilometers of the toll road at KM 26
and KM 27 for a third day on Thursday. The road, with water
levels reaching one meter on Tuesday, has only been passable by
buses and trucks. Motorists heading to the airport had to leave
their vehicles parked on dry parts of the road and take Damri
public buses, or join bumper-to-bumper traffic on the narrow
alternative roads.
Flight crews, airline passengers and others seeking to reach
the airport continued to be inconvenienced on Thursday.
Several airlines, including flag carrier Garuda Indonesia,
delayed their flight departures. Others, such as Lufthansa, said
they were able to plan ahead in using alternative routes to avoid
flight delays on Thursday.
Haryadi said the international airport recorded delays of
between 80 percent and 90 percent of the total flights from
Tuesday to Thursday.
Some flights were canceled, he added.
On Tuesday, one flight each of Garuda Indonesia, Mandala and
Bouraq airlines were canceled and a total of 139 flights delayed.
Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri was one of those
inconvenienced when her Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong took
off half an hour late.
An official from the Jakarta Public Works Agency said on
Thursday that the agency planned to construct a canal to help
drain water on sections of the toll road.
"We will start the work in a day or two," the head of the
agency, Fadly Katib, said.
The canal measuring 1.5 kilometers long and six meters wide
would be constructed between the "Angke and Tunjungan rivers", he
added.
Fadly gave no further explanation as he hurriedly got into his
car. The name of the latter river could not be found on the city
map.
The project, he said, was to extend the existing three-meter
canal constructed by PT Jasa Marga toll road operator at the
site.
Fadly did not explain the depth of the planned canal and the
estimated cost of the project.
But he said the project was a must in order to avoid further
damage to the toll road.
Fadly predicted it would take 1.5 months for the water to
recede.
His remarks on the planned canal and prediction for the
flooding to end conflicted with statements on Wednesday by State
Minister of Public Works Rozik Boedioro Soetjipto and his senior
staff.
The minister said his office would soon propose the central
government build an adequate alternative road to the airport.
"It might take the form of an elevated road stretching the
flooded part of the toll road," he said.
The minister's deputy for regional infrastructure, Asrap
Hadiroso, said the elevated road would be 2.5 kilometers long and
cost some Rp 25 billion (US$3.57 million) per kilometer.
Rozik said the road at the inundated spots gradually sank to
some 80 centimeters since it was constructed 15 years ago.
Rozik and Asrap disclosed that the toll road was hurriedly
constructed without fulfilling the standard procedures,
particularly in the now flooded areas where the land structure
was poor.
"According to the initial schedule, the construction of the
toll road would be finished in 1985, instead of 1984. But the
airport was already completed in 1984," Asrap said.
Monsoon conditions in the Jakarta Bay and heavy rain which
drenched the city since Monday evening contributed to the
flooding.
The inundated sections of the toll road are located in a
swampy area which was formerly the site of mangrove forests.
An alternative route to the airport is through Jl. Daan Mogot
in Tangerang and through Jl. Pembangunan 3, Jl. Marsekal
Suryadarma. Another is via Jl. Jurumudi - Jl. Daan Mogot in West
Jakarta. (41/05/bsr)