Kualanamu Airport Operations Normal Despite Five-Hour Power Outage
Operations at Kualanamu International Airport in Deli Serdang have been confirmed to continue as normal, despite the Northern Sumatra region experiencing mass power outages since Friday night (22/5). The airport experienced a power loss for approximately five hours during a disruption to the electricity supply that affected several provinces in Sumatra, including the entirety of North Sumatra.
The Acting Director of Operations & Services at Kualundamu Airport, Dedy Sri Cahyono, through the Manager of Corporate Affairs, Mohamad Hikmat Hidayat, stated that the disruption in the power supply from PLN to Kualanamu Airport occurred at approximately 19:00 WIB on Friday night. However, this situation did not interfere with flight operations or passenger services.
“The power supply from PLN to Kualanamu Airport was interrupted at around 19:00 WIB and returned to normal at 00:43 WIB on Saturday (23/5),” said Hikmat in a statement on Saturday (23/5).
He explained that Kualanamu Airport possesses two primary power supply sources from PLN. When both supply lines were disconnected, the airport’s electrical system automatically switched to backup generator sets (gensets). According to him, the transition of power to the generators occurred very rapidly, with a maximum reactivation time of only 10 seconds, ensuring all essential facilities continued to function safely.
“All airport facilities and operational services are running normally. There were no operational or technical constraints resulting from the power outage,” he added.
With this backup system in place, flight activities at Kualanamu Airport continued as usual. “Flight activities remain normal for both departures and arrivals, despite the mass electrical disruption affecting North Sumatra,” he emphasised.
It is noted that the mass power outage has affected the entire North Sumatra region since Friday evening at approximately 18:44 WIB. The prolonged blackout has impacted various community activities, ranging from households and offices to public transport services in several areas. As of Saturday night, several areas in Medan city were reported to still be experiencing outages.