Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

NEWSDESK

Indonesia's Medan flights on time despite fire
02 Dec 2007 08:52:49 GMT
Source: Reuters
JAKARTA, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Flights from Polonia airport in Medan, Indonesia's third-largest city, have not been affected by a fire that destroyed the domestic passenger terminal there, airline and local government officials said on Sunday.

No one was injured in the fire, which swept through the domestic terminal at Medan, the capital of North Sumatra and one of Indonesia's busiest air hubs, late on Saturday.

The fire destroyed the offices of the airport's operator PT Angkasa Pura, leading to disruptions at check-in and in baggage handling, according to Eddy Sofyan, spokesman for the governor of North Sumatra province.

Medan's international terminal, at the same airport, was not affected, he said.

"The airport is operating and was not closed, even during the fire. But now everything has to be done manually because the equipment was damaged and it's a bit more crowded," he said.

The cause of the fire is still unknown, Sofyan said.

Wasfan Wahyu Widodo, from Angkasa Pura's Jakarta office, said there were no reports of delays in Medan.

Pujobroto, a spokesman for Indonesia's main carrier, Garuda Indonesia, said the airline's flights had all departed pretty much on time from Medan.

But a passenger at one of the temporary check-in counters reached by Reuters by phone said her flight had been delayed for almost three hours, although it was not clear whether that was because of the fire or another reason.

"There hasn't been any announcement from the airline nor the airport," said Steffy Rompas, a passenger heading from Medan to Sibolga, a city in North Sumatra.

A new airport is being built for Medan in Deli Serdang district to replace Polonia, which is in the city centre. But the new airport, expected to be the country's second-biggest air hub after Jakarta, will not be ready until 2009.

In 2005, a plane operated by domestic carrier Mandala Airlines crashed moments after take-off in Medan, killing more than 140 people, including 40 on the ground near the airport as the aircraft ploughed into a busy road and market. (Reporting by Ahmad Pathoni and Ade Mardiyati; Editing by Sara Webb and Jerry Norton)


AlertNet news is provided by

Email this article       Send comments

Countries

Small country map
© 2004 Europa Technologies Ltd.
Reset map

•  Indonesia profile
· View map

MORE >>

NGO latest

•  Children leaders in the fight against AIDS in Indonesia
CWS

•  Plan younth delegates to attend Bali conference on climate change
Plan UK

•  ACT Appeal: Indonesia/Java: Yogyakarta - Assistance to Quake-affected, REVISION 1
ACT - Switzerland

•  "I sent you forth my brightest world, now it's nearly gone"
IFRC - Switzerland

•  IRC/CARDI TO LAUNCH MAPPING PROGRAMME IN PAPUA, INDONESIA
IRC - UK

MORE >>

Latest news

•  Indonesia's Medan flights on time despite fire

•  Bangladesh says needs aid to adapt to warmer world

•  CHRONOLOGY-From LiveEarth to Bali: A year of climate gatherings

•  PREVIEW-Bali talks to seek global climate deal in 2009

•  India to tell West to shoulder climate change burden

MORE >>

Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Sun Dec 2 08:51:51 2007