jetjockey696
30th Aug 2010, 04:45
Jakarta Globe..August 30, 2010
As millions of Indonesians prepare to celebrate the Idul Fitri holiday by traveling to visit friends and family, the air traffic control radar that manages aircraft movements crashed at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Sunday morning, disrupting dozens of flights and exposing the country’s aging airport infrastructure.
The disruption, which lasted for 30 minutes, began at 9:02 a.m., and led state-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura II to temporarily switch the system to manual mode to minimize flight delays.
Hari Cahyono, corporate secretary of Angkasa Pura II, told the Jakarta Globe that more than 20 domestic flights were affected by the problem.
“At least nine planes that were scheduled to land were held back for about 10 to 15 minutes. At least 15 other flights were forcibly delayed,” Hari said.
He added that the measures were taken “for the safety and security” of passengers.
“No aviation company or pilot complained about this,” Hari said. “We are still investigating the cause. It could have originated from our software or hardware. We realize people are wondering why the old system has not been replaced. It is not that simple. Yes, we have been using the same equipment since 1996, but we keep improving it.”
He promised that the beleaguered company would find a solution to the equipment problems and other infrastructure issues plaguing the airport.
“The last time the radar shut down in this manner was in June 2009,” Hari said.
This latest incident comes just three weeks after a two-second power outage at the airport caused chaos and delayed 62 flights. That incident, on Aug. 6, lasted just 1.7 seconds, but some flight management systems took hours to recover from the outage.
Tri Sunoko, chairman of Angkasa Pura II, said following the radar mishap that there would a “thorough audit of Soekarno-Hatta’s inventory” to identify which systems were fully operational and which were not.
The Ministry of Transportation plans to make Soekarno-Hatta and the main airports in Surabaya, Medan, Bali and Makassar international hubs prior to the Asean open-skies policy scheduled to come into effect in 2015.
This goal, however, might be too ambitious, considering the current state of the country’s airports.
Yudi Widiana Adia, a legislator on House of Representatives Commission V, which oversees transportation, told the Globe on Sunday that the latest incident sullied Indonesia’s reputation.
“How is this happening to an international-class airport? This taints Indonesia’s name abroad and surely it is representative of the quality of safety and security within Indonesian flight control [systems],” Yudi said.
“I am very disappointed. This case will have a very bad impact. Competition in aviation is very tight and we could lose out [to other regions in Southeast Asia] if blackouts or radar shutdowns occur like this.”
Yudi said hearings on the situation at the airport would be held at the House on Wednesday.
“The matter of safety and security is a matter in which there can be absolutely no compromise,” he said.
Dudi Sudibyo, a prominent aviation observer, was equally incensed. “Soekarno-Hatta is Indonesia’s No. 1 gateway,” he said.
“It is inexcusable to have such an incident. It’s time to rejuvenate the technology we use.”
Pujobroto, a spokesman for state-owned flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, confirmed that a number of the airline’s flights had been disrupted by the incident on Sunday morning.
“Our morning flights were delayed for several minutes when the radar went down,” Pujobroto said.
As millions of Indonesians prepare to celebrate the Idul Fitri holiday by traveling to visit friends and family, the air traffic control radar that manages aircraft movements crashed at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Sunday morning, disrupting dozens of flights and exposing the country’s aging airport infrastructure.
The disruption, which lasted for 30 minutes, began at 9:02 a.m., and led state-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura II to temporarily switch the system to manual mode to minimize flight delays.
Hari Cahyono, corporate secretary of Angkasa Pura II, told the Jakarta Globe that more than 20 domestic flights were affected by the problem.
“At least nine planes that were scheduled to land were held back for about 10 to 15 minutes. At least 15 other flights were forcibly delayed,” Hari said.
He added that the measures were taken “for the safety and security” of passengers.
“No aviation company or pilot complained about this,” Hari said. “We are still investigating the cause. It could have originated from our software or hardware. We realize people are wondering why the old system has not been replaced. It is not that simple. Yes, we have been using the same equipment since 1996, but we keep improving it.”
He promised that the beleaguered company would find a solution to the equipment problems and other infrastructure issues plaguing the airport.
“The last time the radar shut down in this manner was in June 2009,” Hari said.
This latest incident comes just three weeks after a two-second power outage at the airport caused chaos and delayed 62 flights. That incident, on Aug. 6, lasted just 1.7 seconds, but some flight management systems took hours to recover from the outage.
Tri Sunoko, chairman of Angkasa Pura II, said following the radar mishap that there would a “thorough audit of Soekarno-Hatta’s inventory” to identify which systems were fully operational and which were not.
The Ministry of Transportation plans to make Soekarno-Hatta and the main airports in Surabaya, Medan, Bali and Makassar international hubs prior to the Asean open-skies policy scheduled to come into effect in 2015.
This goal, however, might be too ambitious, considering the current state of the country’s airports.
Yudi Widiana Adia, a legislator on House of Representatives Commission V, which oversees transportation, told the Globe on Sunday that the latest incident sullied Indonesia’s reputation.
“How is this happening to an international-class airport? This taints Indonesia’s name abroad and surely it is representative of the quality of safety and security within Indonesian flight control [systems],” Yudi said.
“I am very disappointed. This case will have a very bad impact. Competition in aviation is very tight and we could lose out [to other regions in Southeast Asia] if blackouts or radar shutdowns occur like this.”
Yudi said hearings on the situation at the airport would be held at the House on Wednesday.
“The matter of safety and security is a matter in which there can be absolutely no compromise,” he said.
Dudi Sudibyo, a prominent aviation observer, was equally incensed. “Soekarno-Hatta is Indonesia’s No. 1 gateway,” he said.
“It is inexcusable to have such an incident. It’s time to rejuvenate the technology we use.”
Pujobroto, a spokesman for state-owned flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, confirmed that a number of the airline’s flights had been disrupted by the incident on Sunday morning.
“Our morning flights were delayed for several minutes when the radar went down,” Pujobroto said.