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Mt. Kelud ash hits business hard
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Mt. Kelud's ash showers in East Java on Thursday night have disrupted the country's air travel and hit businesses hard, causing substantial losses.
On Friday, the Transportation Ministry issued a volcanic ash hazard to airmen (ASHTAM) warning, forcing the closure of seven airports across Java.
They were Husein Sastranegara International Airport in Bandung, West Java; Adi Soemarmo International Airport in Surakarta, Ahmad Yani International Airport in Semarang and Tunggul Wulung Airport in Cilacap, all in Central Java; Adisucipto International Airport in Yogyakarta; and Juanda International Airport in Surabaya and Abdul Rahman Saleh Airport in Malang, both in East Java.
The Transportation Ministry's director general for air transportation, Herry Bakti Gumay, said the eruption had affected 23 domestic and 10 international routes along the northern part of Java.
'It depends on the mountain's activity as to when these airports will resume operations,' Herry said at a press conference on Friday.
State-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura I operational director Yushan Sayuti said that the Surabaya airport served around 50,000 passengers per day.
With airport tax set at Rp 40,000 (US$3.42) per passenger, the airport was set to lose up to Rp 2 billion each day it remained closed, he said.
He said that the Yogyakarta, Surakarta and Semarang airports served around 16,000, 5,000 and 4,000 passengers per day, respectively, but the operator had yet to calculate the total potential losses resulting from the thick clouds of volcanic ash.
'The latest information I've received from the Surakarta airport is that they have started to clear the runway, so has Semarang airport, because the ash was not as thick as that at Yogyakarta and Surabaya airports, where the eruption has left runways covered by up to 5 centimeters of ash and dust,' Yushan said.
Herry said that the ministry had instructed airlines to refund tickets or reschedule canceled flights.
As a consequence of the closures, many air travelers switched to the train, causing a surge in the number of train passengers, especially those in executive class, between Surabaya and Jakarta.
Contacted separately, Indonesian Employers' Association (Apindo) deputy chairman Franky Sibarani said that although production in factories across Java might not be disrupted, distribution to and from the affected areas would be problematic.
'Some of the areas where manufacturers operate have been subject to flooding and now they must deal with this eruption,' he said. 'I suspect that one month of recovery will not be enough, both for the people and for the economy.'
Meanwhile, Indonesian Cattle and Buffalo Breeders Association chairman Teguh Boediyana said that the eruption would obviously affect East Java, the country's dairy production hub with around 900 tons of fresh milk produced daily.
'We haven't estimated the losses, but the eruption has seriously affected the dairy industry in Kediri, Malang and Blitar, and these areas produce around 400 tons of fresh milk,' Teguh told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
He said that the ash would affect the health of the cattle as well as the dairy industry's overall hygiene standards. 'I am sure that the beef industry will also be affected, but dairy products will suffer the most from this disaster,' Teguh said.
The eruption, however, had not disrupted the operations of the Cilacap oil refinery or the Cepu oilfield in East and Central Java, said the spokesman for state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina, Ali Mundakir, as quoted by Reuters.
Cilacap, about 360 kilometers west of Mt. Kelud, is home to Indonesia's largest refinery which is operated by Pertamina.
The refinery's 348,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) capacity makes up about a third of Indonesia's total.
Pertamina had prepared preventive measures for possible disruptions in distribution of fuel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the affected areas, Ali said.
Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) president director Gatot Suwondo said during a mini Master Repurchase Agreement (MRA) signing on Friday that the bank had yet to decide whether or not remissions of non-performing loans would be given to businesses that had been negatively affected by the eruption.
'We are still waiting for Bank Indonesia's policy. We might temporarily close offices in the areas affected by the eruption so our employees can focus on their own personal safety,' said Gatot. (dwa)
Indra Harsaputra, Kusumasari Ayuningtyas, Ainur Rohmah and Suherdjoko contributed to the story from Surabaya, Surakarta and Semarang
