However, only 1,700 meters of it is functional."Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Ministry of Transportation stated on Friday that the runway of Jalaluddin Airport in Gorontalo has yet to be fully operational since the skidding incident on Tuesday (August 6) involving Lion Air plane JT 892.
"The total length of the runway is 2,500 meters. However, only 1,700 meters of it is functional," the Ministry`s Director General of Aviation, Herry Bakti, said in a press release here on Friday.
Therefore, the runway is only good enough for the take-off and landing of short-range regional passenger planes, such as ATR aircraft.
The limited utilization of the runway is in accordance with Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) No. C0464/13, which was issued by the Aviation Directorate General on August 7.
Officials from the Directorate General and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident and evacuating the plane that had skidded.
It was reported that an airplane flight number JT-892 belonging to Lion Air, which had left Jakarta on Tuesday for Gorontalo city, situated in the northern part of Sulawesi, skidded at Gorontalo`s Jalaluddin airport after hitting some cows that had wandered into the runway.
However, the 110 passengers on board the plane were not injured during the incident.
The evacuation process on Thursday was hampered by the lack of necessary heavy equipment.
Meanwhile, as many as 155 passengers waiting to board a Garuda Indonesia airplane demanded that the state-owned airline company exercise its authority at the Jalaluddin Airport on Friday following the postponement of flights over the past three days.
The passengers also urged the airport`s administration to evacuate the accident-hit airplane from the runway immediately.
"I have been leaving and returning to the airport for the past three days because the Garuda Indonesia`s authorities have been failing to announce the flight schedule," said Ardiansyah, one of the passengers.
(T.A059/B/KR-BSR/INE/A014)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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