Government Readies 10 Airports To Handle Mt Agung Eruption

Klungkung (Antara Bali) - As many as 10 airports have been readied to handle the possible eruption of Mount Agung whose volcanic activities continue to increase in the Indonesian island resort of Bali, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi stated.

"We have readied 10 airports as a precautionary measure in case Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali is shut down due to the eruption of Mt Agung," the transportation minister remarked while visiting evacuees at the Sweca Pura Sports Center in Klungkung District on Thursday.

Sumadi said 10 airports but he named only six: the airport in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara; in Banyuwangi, East Java; in Surabaya, East Java; in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan; in Makassar, South Sulawesi; and the Soekarno-Hatta airport in Jakarta.

"As an alternative international airport, we will divert some one thousand international passengers for Bali to Lombok, and an estimated total of five thousand passengers are being transported per day," the minister noted.

According to Sumadi, the Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali has readied 100 buses to transport passengers to the nearest airports as well as to serve domestic passengers from the island of Bali.

"Some three thousand domestic passengers from Bali will return to their respective places of origin, while the remaining two thousand international and domestic passengers will be transported via land and sea routes," he revealed.

State-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura I on Tuesday set up an emergency center at the Ngurah Rai airbase in order to ensure the safety and security of passengers after Mount Agung entered a critical stage.

"Since the volcanic activity has escalated, the Ngurah Rai airport operator has coordinated with other stakeholders to take precautionary measures in case of an eruption," Israwadi, the company secretary, noted in a written statement received by Antara in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Israwadi further remarked that representatives of the Bali Police, Ngurah Rai Air Force, the Provincial Disaster Mitigation Agency, and other offices attended a meeting.

Israwadi noted that the airport operator will also take some preventive measures, including launching a hotline, helpdesk, media center, and alternative means of transportation for the passengers. (WDY)