Jakarta, Indonesia Sentinel — In response to the closure of Komodo International Airport, numerous travelers stranded in Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai Regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), have resorted to chartering speedboats to leave the area. The volcanic ash from Mount Lewotobi’s eruption has forced the airport’s shutdown, leaving the sea route as the only viable option for reaching airports unaffected by the ash cloud.
According to Stephanus Risdiyanto, Head of the Labuan Bajo Port Authority (KSOP), many tourists have hired speedboats from Labuan Bajo to reach Sape in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB). From there, they can continue by land to Bima, whose airport remains unaffected by the volcanic ash.
“They’ve chartered several speedboats that don’t typically operate routes to Sape but have been repurposed to transport passengers seeking unaffected airports. We’ve ensured these trips are safe, with sufficient fuel and safety equipment to reach Sape,” Stephanus said on Sunday night, November 10, as reported by Tribun.
To aid stranded tourists, the government, through state-owned company PT Pelni, has also dispatched vessels to assist in the evacuation. The KM Egon, initially scheduled to sail from Waingapu Port in Sumba to Lembar Port in West Lombok, was diverted to Labuan Bajo, where it arrived on Sunday night.
“On Sunday night, the Egon ship transported 100 passengers bound for Lembar, Lombok, where the airport remains open,” Stephanus added.
Additionally, several shipping companies have adjusted their schedules to assist with the evacuation of tourists who were originally set to fly out of Komodo International Airport but had their flights canceled due to the closure.
“Tomorrow [Monday] night at 11 PM, the Tilongkabila ship is scheduled to arrive to help with the evacuation, while ships from Dharma Lautan Utama (DLU) have expedited their journeys to reach Bajo sooner,” Stephanus explained.
The Ministry of Transportation, via the Directorate General of Sea Transportation, has also deployed the patrol vessel KN Chundamani P.116 to assist in evacuating tourists stranded in Labuan Bajo.
Komodo Airport Closure Due to Volcanic Ash
Komodo International Airport in Labuan Bajo remains closed as of Monday morning, November 11, 2024, after a paper test confirmed the presence of volcanic ash from Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, which began affecting the area on Saturday, November 9, 2024.
“The airport is currently under a NOTAM closure, meaning it is not operational since the issuance of the NOTAM on Sunday morning, November 10, 2024,” said Ceppy Triono, Head of the Komodo Labuan Bajo Airport Unit.
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Ceppy noted that the temporary suspension of flights to and from Labuan Bajo has impacted thousands of passengers scheduled to travel through the airport. “On Sunday, November 10, 2024, a total of 2,155 arriving passengers and 2,426 departing passengers had their flights canceled, with 30 scheduled flights affected,” Ceppy reported.
As of this morning, the airport remains closed. According o Beritamoneter, Ronald, a staff member at Komodo Airport, mentioned that the airport is expected to reopen later today (Monday) around 1 PM local time (WITA).
“There are no flights this morning. The airport is set to reopen in the afternoon with three scheduled routes from Labuan Bajo to Bali, Surabaya, and Jakarta. However, all plans are still subject to updates,” Ronald said.
In the meantime, many passengers seeking to leave Labuan Bajo have turned to sea transportation services due to the temporary Komodo airport closure.
(Raidi/Agung)
