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Central Sulawesi quake: Foreign aid aircraft restricted from Palu
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Hundreds of survivors of an earthquake in Palu, Central Sulawesi, including foreigners, board a Hercules aircraft belonging to the Indonesian Air Force on Monday, three days after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit the region. The plane was heading to Makassar in South Sulawesi. JP/ Andi Hajramurni (JP/Andi Hajramurni)
M
utiara Sis Al Jufri Airport in Palu, Central Sulawesi, remains closed off to foreign airlines seeking to provide aid for the thousands of earthquake victims, an official has said.
“Several foreign airlines have requested permission to deploy their aircraft, but we did not allow them because it is still a sensitive area,” said Transport Ministry airport director Polana Pramesthi on Monday as reported by kontan.co.id, mentioning a French airline as a recent example.
Read also: Jokowi declares Indonesia open to foreign aid
Polana assured that Indonesian airlines were capable of carrying out all necessary aid work. There have been at least four commercial local airlines operating flights in Palu since the earthquake struck on Friday: Garuda Indonesia, Wings Air, Nam Air and My Indo as well as several military-operated Hercules aircraft.
“There have been six return flights by Hercules aircraft so far,” he said.
However, current airline activity is below average because authorities are prioritizing aid-related flights and will remain selective of foreign aid.
National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said government priority would be given to Australia, the United States, Morocco, South Korea, the European Union, China, Singapore, Turkey, the Philippines and Switzerland.
So far, South Korea has donated US$1 million, the EU Rp 25 billion ($1.6 million) and China $200,000 (via the Red Cross). Sutopo added that only President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had the authority to authorize foreign aid. (nor)
