Authorities at the Yogyakarta's Adisutjipto International Airport were forced to impose a temporary closure as Mount Merapi’s crater began belching a column of ash into the sky on Friday (May 11).
The Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG) reported that Mt. Merapi's crater began spewing debris at a height of 5,500m, at 7:40 a.m. local time, Jakarta Globe reported.
Residents within a five-kilometre radius were forced to evacuate their homes. The volcanic ash has affected the regions located at the southern and southwest of Mount Merapi, according to National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
“The impact of Mt. Merapi's eruption on Adisutjipto Airport in Yogyakarta, has forced us to close the airport from 11:25am for another 30 minutes," said Israwadi, corporate secretary of state-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura I, in a statement.
AirNav Indonesia had issued a notification to airmen about the closure of the airport following an air transport stakeholders meeting that decided the closure due to volcanic ash, Yohanes Sirait, spokesman of AirNav Indonesia, said in the statement.
Further evaluation will be taken to renew the status of the airport, he added.
Normal operations continue at other nearby airports in Semarang and Solo in Central Java.