Bilorai Sugapa Airport Abandoned Abandoned by Officers for Fear of being Attacked by KKB

Bilorai Airport in Sugapa, Intan Jaya Regency, Papua is now in a derelict condition after being left by operational officers. The officers have not worked at the airport since October 2021 after being attacked by an armed criminal group (KKB).

Intan Jaya Police Chief, AKBP Sandi Sultan, admitted that airport officials have not yet returned to work to guide the flow of flight traffic.
 
According to the police chief, this condition is very risky because airport operations do not regulate both takeoff and landing, so it is feared that it will have an impact on the safety and security of flight activities.

"Moreover, reaching Sugapa can only be done by plane and the vacancy has been going on since last October 2021," said AKBp Sandi Sultan, Tuesday (15/3/2022).
 
The vacancy of officers including the head of Bilorai Airport will be reported to the Minister of Transportation because it has an impact on airport operations.

Currently, the security situation in Sugapa is relatively conducive, so there is no reason why the officers are still reluctant to return to their duties.

The officers, especially those from the aviation traffic control authority, aka AirNav, have left the airport since there was a security disturbance by armed groups around Bilorai Airport in October 2021. However, the security situation is now slowly returning to conducive.

The presence of airport officials, including the flight traffic control authority, is urgently needed, especially since the runway at Bilorai Airport in Sugapa is damaged so that it can cause flight accidents.

"The TNI-Polri are only tasked with securing (the airport) not regulating flight traffic," said Sultan.

SOURCE: https://papua.inews.id/berita/bandara-bilorai-sugapa-telantar-ditinggal-petugas-karena-takut-dierang-kkb/