Now that the evacuation process is over, we should be able to fly at 7 p.m."Gorontalo (ANTARA News) - The Lion Air plane, which had skidded off the runway at Djalaluddin Airport in Gorontalo on August 6, 2013, was evacuated on Friday at 4 p.m. local time.
The Lion Air Boeing 737-800 plane was towed away to the end of the runway by an excavator and is being guarded by patrol cars.
"Eighty percent of the evacuation was completed at 2:30 p.m. (local time), and the airplane has now been towed away to the end of the runway," said Deden Chandra Komala, Flight Traffic Officer at Djalaluddin Airport, on Friday.
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Cengkareng, sent the necessary equipment for evacuation to Djalaluddin Airport, and the evacuation process started on August 7, 2013.
Komala said the Notice to Airmen has been issued, stating that the airport will be open to the public tonight.
Meanwhile, stranded passengers at the airport celebrated the successful evacuation.
"Now that the evacuation process is over, we should be able to fly at 7 p.m.," said Trubus, one of the passengers.
(Uu.A059/KR-BSR/A014)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2013
