Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan
The Polonia airport authority in Medan, North Sumatra, announced Sunday it would continue to serve passengers after a fire the previous day destroyed the domestic terminal.
The fire started about 8:45 p.m. and swept through the entire terminal. No deaths have been reported, but one firefighter sustained serious injuries while battling the blaze.
The decision to continue with services was made during a closed-door meeting led by North Sumatra Governor Rudolf Pardede early Sunday morning.
Rudolf said domestic flight departure services would be moved to the nearby Air Force base, Polonia airport's VIP room and the Medan office of national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia.
Acting head state-owned Angkasa Pura II, which manages Polonia airport, Poniran M. Abdi, said services for domestic flights had to be transferred from the gutted terminal to other sites.
"Under the current emergency conditions, we hope all passengers who already bought tickets can be accommodated even though there are lots of schedule changes," Poniran told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
There was confusion among passengers Sunday as they waited, often for hours, to be told their departure time and location.
Syaukani, a passenger from Aceh, said he had already been waiting for more than two hours in front of the Polonia VIP room, but still there was no assurance as to when he would fly.
"I'm tired and disappointed, but I can't do anything because this is an emergency situation. I hope the government will deal with it as soon as possible," he said.
Governor Rudolf said it would take more than three months to repair the damage to the domestic terminal.
At least 18 fire engines were deployed to the scene, but firefighters had trouble dealing with the blaze because a number of hydrants were not working.
Deputy head of the North Sumatra Police criminal division, Adj. Sr. Comr. Darmawan Sutawijaya, said that based on preliminary investigations the fire was believed to have been started by an exploding voltage regulator.
Several witnesses said they heard an explosion and saw a blaze in a corridor between the transit lounge and the Garuda Indonesia customer service room, on the second floor of the terminal.
Darmawan said six forensic officers from the National Police in Jakarta were in Medan and helping to determine the cause of the fire.
He said there was a problem with a voltage regulator at the airport three months ago, but did not provide details.
Officials estimate Saturday's fire caused billions of rupiah worth of damage.
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