Runway overlay work delays 18 flights

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Runway repair at Adisucipto airport here caused the delay of 18 flights to and from Yogyakarta on Wednesday.

The head of technical division of PT Angkasa Pura I Yogyakarta, Johny T. Palopana confirmed the delay and said all departing passengers were then taken by bus to the Adisumarmo airport in the neighboring town of Surakarta.

"Approaching flights were also instructed to land in Adisumarmo and passengers bound for Yogyakarta were then transported in by bus," Johny told The Jakarta Post.

The problem emerged at about 2:00 p.m when the finisher used in the overlay work broke down.

"The contractor, PT Perwita Karya, covered the unfinished section with gravel. But Garuda Indonesia did not want to take risks by flying their Boeing 737 planes over the unfinished tarmac," he said.

Garuda Indonesia spokesman Pujobroto said in Jakarta that the national flag carrier makes nine regular flights to Yogyakarta every day.

"Our Fokker 28 could still use the Adisucipto runway," he said on Wednesday. "Things will return to normal tomorrow."

He said the delays were due to the fact that Garuda had to arrange for the transportation of passengers from Yogyakarta to Surakarta.

A disgruntled passenger, Mrs. Fani Gunawan, was upset by the unexpected delay. "I'm going to Jakarta for very important business. But I have no choice," she said, adding that her (previous) flight was scheduled for 2:45 a.m. She had to fly from Adisumarmo at 5:00 p.m.

Rusbandi, the head of the administration division of the Angkasa Pura I, admitted that announcement of the runway problem to two Garuda's two Boeing 737 from Jakarta and Ngurah Rai, Bali was late. "They had to return to Jakarta and Denpasar soon after taking off at 7:30 and 7:10," he said.

The runway overlay project is carried out once every six years. "The ongoing project started last December and is scheduled to be completed by April 25," Johny said. (44/sur)