Reuters – Two planes collided on a runway at a city airport in the Indonesian capital late on Monday (April 4), forcing passengers to evacuate using inflatable ramps.
No casualties were reported, according to a statement from the transportation ministry.
Mobile phone footage posted to the Internet showed images of fire being put off by emergency services.A Boeing 737-800 operated by Batik Air, the full-service arm of one of Asia’s biggest airline operators Lion Air Group, was attempting to take off from Halim Perdanakusuma airport when its wing clipped the tail of a smaller plane being towed off the runway.
“All passengers and crew were safely evacuated,” the transportation ministry said in a statement, adding the airport, which services mainly domestic flights, would be closed until further notice.
Indonesia has seen a boom in air travel and budget carriers have proliferated at among the fastest paces in the region.
But airport infrastructure in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy has struggled to keep pace. Indonesia has experienced two major air crashes since late 2014, when an Air Asia plane carrying 162 passengers crashed into the Java Sea.