For that reason, Director General of Air Transportation Polana B Pramesti said in a statement received here, on Thursday, that he had asked his officials to intensively monitor flight operations that could possibly be affected by the eruption.
This is especially due to the high frequency of flight operations during Christmas and New Year season.
"Coinciding with the Christmas holidays and welcoming the 2019 New Year and school holidays, air transportation modes are in great demand as the public are going on vacation. For this reason, I have asked the Airport Authority, Airport Organizing Unit, and all stakeholders to continue to coordinate and be prepared, should there be occurrences that could disrupt flight activities," he noted.
Up until now, he continued, he is yet to receive a special airport closing note from AirNav Indonesia, as the air traffic organizer. However, the Airnav has issued a NOT54 A5440 / 18 concerning Closure and Reroute affected by the Krakatau Mountain.
The volcanic ash from Anak Krakatau Mountain has no impact on airport closure so far, as the nearest airports, including Soekarno Hatta Airport and Lampung Radin Inten II Airport, are still operating normally.
"Airnav has issued a special note related to the transfer of flight routes that cannot be passed by aircrafts," he added.
In line with this, Head of Radin Inten II Lampung Airport, Asep Kosasih, reported that since the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau, airport facilities, both on land and air, were not affected and continued to operate normally.
"Thank God, after the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau, Radin Inten II Airport operated normally and was not affected. However, we will continue to monitor developments and coordinate intensely with BMKG, Airnav, and the Directorate of Aviation Navigation, Kosasih stated.
Reporting by Juwita Trisna Rahayu
Editing Aria Cindyara, Andi Abdussalam
Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
