Yogyakarta airport now operating until late at night

Yogyakarta (ANTARA News) - Adisutjipto airport in Yogyakarta , about 35 kilometers south of Mount Merapi,Indonesia is now operating normally until late at night.

"After being reopened following its closure as a result of Mount Merapi`s eruptions last month, the airport has so far been opened only from 6am to 6pm but now after the danger status of the mountain has been lowered the airport is operating normally," airport operator PT Angakasa Pura`s operations manager Halendra W said here on Saturday.

He said after the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Agency lowered the danger status of Mount Merapi at 9am on December 3 all parties concerned had conducted a coordination meeting that produced notice to airmen (NOTAM) Number B2162/10 stating "aerodrome normal operation and on request."

"The NOTAM is effective as of December 3," he said.

The decision earlier to open the airport only from 6am to 6pm from November 21 to December 3 was based upon NOTAM Number B2130/10.

Based upon the data collected by the airport operator, he said, number of arrivals and departures of passengers at the airport had started to reach normalcy.

On December 2, the number of passengers arriving at and departing from the airport reached 84.7 percent and on Sunday the number was expected to reach 95 percent.

"It is hoped next week it will reach 100 percent," he said.(*)