Pekanbaru, Riau. Hundreds of
passengers have been stranded following the cancellation of 19 flights
from Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport in Pekanbaru, after a Garuda
Indonesia flight skidded off the runway on Tuesday, bringing all
operations to a halt.
No one was injured in the incident, but the plane is still stranded next to the runway with crews working to remove it. The airport has reportedly allowed limited flight operations to commence.
Many passengers who were set to depart Tuesday night on various Batavia Air, Lion Air and Sriwijaya Air flights stayed overnight at the airport and slept on the floor — the airlines refused to pay for hotels.
“They’re deaf, even as we’re this noisy. No one from management has come to see us,” Samsulhari, a passenger, told Antara.
Other passengers complained that they weren’t even offered food, and insisted on staying at the airport until the airlines officially explained the situation.
“Lion [Air] has handled the crisis badly after Garuda skidded off,” said Fitri, a passenger who was supposed to leave for Jakarta on Tuesday night. “They’re not prepared at all. We will wait until there’s an explanation about a hotel, and about the next flight tomorrow.”
A district manager for Batavia Air said they refused to pay for hotels for their stranded passengers because the delay was not their responsibility.
“This is a Garuda incident which has impacted others, including placing other airlines in a difficult position,” Bachtiar, the Batavia district manager, said. “No hotel compensation will be given because it was not Batavia’s mistake. It might seem to be lacking in humanity — we apologize, but it is our policy not to give hotel compensation.”
Bachtiar said that the passengers will be directed to other Batavia flights once the airport has been reopened.
Sriwijaya Air Station Manager Ahmad Bustomi also said that his airline could not provide compensation, but would forward complaints to airport management.
“For Sriwijaya passengers that canceled flights with us, we will fully refund the ticket,” Ahmad said.
A Lion Air manager also had a difficult time calming upset passengers after flights were canceled. Hundreds of passengers reportedly chased the manager, who was forced to hide inside an office.
The airport was been reopened on Wednesday morning after being closed for 17 hours, but with tight restrictions. Only 1,800 meters of the 2,600 meter runway is available, according to Anggono Raras, the General Manager of airport operator Angkasa Pura II.
“The flights can operate, but with certain conditions,” Anggono said. “The pilot must . . . reduce cargo or use smaller airplanes.”
Anggono said a small airplanes such as a Fokker 50 — which is capable of carrying 62 passengers — could use the runway.
But is not clear at this time if passengers are being flown out of Sultan Syarif Kasim II airport.
Anggono also said that the process of moving the Garuda plane was going slowly because the airline reportedly declined to use Angkasa Pura’s equipment.
“Angkasa Pura has a special salvage jack, [because] we’re use to handling this kind of incident,” he said. “It happened three times in Pekanbaru, and [we] usually only need one to three hours to solve the problem. But Garuda insisted on doing it their way.”
Garuda finally used Angkasa Pura’s equipment at 2 a.m., ten hours after the plane skidded off the runway.
Garuda Indonesia Pekanbaru General Manager Suyano declined to answer reporter’s questions.
No one was injured in the incident, but the plane is still stranded next to the runway with crews working to remove it. The airport has reportedly allowed limited flight operations to commence.
Many passengers who were set to depart Tuesday night on various Batavia Air, Lion Air and Sriwijaya Air flights stayed overnight at the airport and slept on the floor — the airlines refused to pay for hotels.
“They’re deaf, even as we’re this noisy. No one from management has come to see us,” Samsulhari, a passenger, told Antara.
Other passengers complained that they weren’t even offered food, and insisted on staying at the airport until the airlines officially explained the situation.
“Lion [Air] has handled the crisis badly after Garuda skidded off,” said Fitri, a passenger who was supposed to leave for Jakarta on Tuesday night. “They’re not prepared at all. We will wait until there’s an explanation about a hotel, and about the next flight tomorrow.”
A district manager for Batavia Air said they refused to pay for hotels for their stranded passengers because the delay was not their responsibility.
“This is a Garuda incident which has impacted others, including placing other airlines in a difficult position,” Bachtiar, the Batavia district manager, said. “No hotel compensation will be given because it was not Batavia’s mistake. It might seem to be lacking in humanity — we apologize, but it is our policy not to give hotel compensation.”
Bachtiar said that the passengers will be directed to other Batavia flights once the airport has been reopened.
Sriwijaya Air Station Manager Ahmad Bustomi also said that his airline could not provide compensation, but would forward complaints to airport management.
“For Sriwijaya passengers that canceled flights with us, we will fully refund the ticket,” Ahmad said.
A Lion Air manager also had a difficult time calming upset passengers after flights were canceled. Hundreds of passengers reportedly chased the manager, who was forced to hide inside an office.
The airport was been reopened on Wednesday morning after being closed for 17 hours, but with tight restrictions. Only 1,800 meters of the 2,600 meter runway is available, according to Anggono Raras, the General Manager of airport operator Angkasa Pura II.
“The flights can operate, but with certain conditions,” Anggono said. “The pilot must . . . reduce cargo or use smaller airplanes.”
Anggono said a small airplanes such as a Fokker 50 — which is capable of carrying 62 passengers — could use the runway.
But is not clear at this time if passengers are being flown out of Sultan Syarif Kasim II airport.
Anggono also said that the process of moving the Garuda plane was going slowly because the airline reportedly declined to use Angkasa Pura’s equipment.
“Angkasa Pura has a special salvage jack, [because] we’re use to handling this kind of incident,” he said. “It happened three times in Pekanbaru, and [we] usually only need one to three hours to solve the problem. But Garuda insisted on doing it their way.”
Garuda finally used Angkasa Pura’s equipment at 2 a.m., ten hours after the plane skidded off the runway.
Garuda Indonesia Pekanbaru General Manager Suyano declined to answer reporter’s questions.
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