The campaign, however, will not affect the airports’ flight schedules or operations.

To show its support to the global environmental campaign, the switch-off will only be implemented in some parts of the airports.

"The lights in some areas in the 13 airports will be switched off at 8:30 p.m. local time for one hour," AP I airport service vice president Ramdan Pradarma told a press conference in Bali on Friday.

Ngurah Rai airport in Bali will become the center for the switch-off campaign. The switch-off will be conducted in at least three locations, namely at the I Gusti Ngurah Rai statue at the traffic circle near the airport, the airport’s name board and at the Balinese-style gate, Bentar, which is close to the international terminal.

Read also: Jakarta joins Earth Hour campaign

"We could not conduct the switch-off at the airport terminal as it would affect the airport’s operations," Ramdan added.

Besides Ngurah Rai, the other airports participating in the campaign are Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport in Makassar, Sepinggan International Airport in Balikpapan, Frans Kaisiepo International Airport in Biak, Sam Ratulangi International Airport in Manado, Syamsudin Noor International Airport in Banjarmasin, Ahmad Yani International Airport in Semarang, Adi Sutjipto International Airport in Yogyakarta, Adi Soemarmo International Airport in Surakarta, Lombok International Airport in West Nusa Tenggara, Pattimura Airport in Ambon and El Tari Airport in East Nusa Tenggara.

AP I marketing and service director Devy W.A. Suradji said that the government was eager to join the Earth Hour campaign as it was in line with the company's mission. "As a company that connects many tourist destinations, which mostly are natural destinations, we consider this a global campaign in line with our mission as we’re not only building airports, but also destinations. And we want to educate all passengers to be smart and green travelers," she said.

Related activities have also been conducted by airport and local communities in the 13 airports since March 23, such as trash clean-up programs and collecting petition signatures from passengers to support the Earth Hour campaign.

The coordinator of Earth Hour Bali, Sutan Tantowi Dermawan, said he was grateful the airport could participate in the global campaign. "This campaign aims to educate the public about the importance of preserving our environment," he said, adding that the campaign, which was initiated by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in 2007, has been adopted in at least 180 countries across the world. (kes)

Popular

Women in philanthropy: Fifi Pangestu’s leadership and vision in Bakti Barito Foundation

Philippines to endure extreme heat until mid-May

Magnitude 6.5 earthquake strikes off Java island: authorities