VIVAnews - The Ministry of Transportation has summoned the Head of Moses Kilangin airport in Timika, Papua. The summons is to seek confirmation on the report from Garuda Indonesia saying that the airline was not supplied with fuel by the airport superintendent because it refused to carry PT Freeport President from Jayapura to Timika on Sunday, January 3, 2010.
“The summons has been sent today but they won’t come until tomorrow. We’re asking the head of the airport because he’s the one who is responsible for every problem, including the incident involving Garuda,” Director General of Air Transportation Herry Bhakti S Gumay said in a written statement issued by The Ministry of Transportation yesterday, January 4.
According to him, based on the latest information obtained from the airport management, the absence of fuel distribution to Garuda aircraft was not due to the airline’s deterrence in carrying Freeport President.
“There wasn’t enough fuel. The airport management said they had told the airline about it earlier,” the former Administration Head of Soekarno-Hatta Airport said.
He also said the airport did not only publish an official announcement on the limited fuel stock to Garuda, but also to Merpati Nusantara airline.
“They reduced the amount of fuel for both airlines because of the limited stock. They said the letters were sent on December 25. They didn’t say how long the condition would apply,” Gumay said.
Pertamina, as the sole fuel station in Moses Kilangin, has a bunker with the capacity of up to 8000 liters per day.
With such amount of fuel, the airport is only able to cater the needs of Freeport’s aircrafts. “It’s not permissible because it’s a public airport,” Gumay said.
Aside from confirming the report, the Ministry of Transportation will also conduct a special evaluation at Moses Kilangin airport. If the airport proves of only fulfilling its own needs, status revocation is a possible thing.
“We may revoke the status, but everything needs to be discussed first. After we’re finished with the evaluation, we’ll make a decision. We’ll degrade the status if necessary,” Gumay said.
As reported, Timika Airport truly belongs to PT Freeport. But, upon the request of the company, the airport was later opened for public. The local government has also allocated a certain amount of budget for the Timika-situated airport.
However, Gumay firmly stated that whatever the reason is, PT Freeport’s rejection in supplying the fuel was unjustifiable. He also said the case was within the gray area because there was business interest involved.
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Translated by: Nataya Ermanti
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