Yogya restricts plane traffic
Yogya restricts plane traffic
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto has temporarily barred all Boeing 737 and DC-9 planes from using the Adisucipto airport in Yogyakarta after another plane, the third in three weeks, slid off the runway Monday night.
As of yesterday, planes from each class of aircraft have been diverted from Yogyakarta to the Adisumarmo airport in Surakarta (Solo), about 60 kilometers to the east.
The airlines will provide overland transportation from Solo to Yogyakarta.
Haryanto, who was in Yogyakarta to attend the opening ceremony of the working conference of the state railway company Perumka, personally made the decision after inspecting the facility.
He said the diversion will be enforced until the project to extend Adisucipto's runway is completed.
He promised that the government would disburse funding for the project as quickly as possible. "We'll work day and night to complete the work."
The project, which was begun in 1992, was originally slated for completion at the end of this year.
All three accidents at the Adisucipto airport occurred during heavy rains. Fortunately, there were no fatalities.
The latest accident affected a Boeing 737 plane belonging to the private airliner Sempati on Monday night, which was serving the Jakarta-Yogyakarta-Denpasar route.
The head of the local branch of Perum Angkasa, the state agency which manages the airport, Col. Soelaeman, explained that the plane overshot the runway by about 110 meters.
Its front wheel is currently dug deep into the earth, he said, adding that the airport would be closed to all planes until after the Sempati plane could be removed.
A Merpati Nusantara Airlines plane met the same fate last Friday. A plane belonging to Garuda Indonesia also overshot the runway late last year.
Soelaeman said the runway at Adisucipto at present is only 1,800 meters and that both Boeing 737s and DC-9s need at least 2,400 meters for landing and take-off.
Up until recently the airport has accepted both types of aircraft, although on the condition that the planes not be filled to their full capacity, he said.
The current project will extend the runway to 2,225 meters. (mun/fadjri)