Runway overlay work delays 18 flights

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)