When Jogja had an earthquake last year, I had the pleasure of flying into nearby Solo the day after the earthquake. It was a nice morning with good weather forecasts, and we were to do 4 legs that day. Before departure, we had a slight delay trying to confirm whether there would be a parking spot for us on arrival. After a "yes", we were on our way.
The route took us over the north coast of Java, and we would descend shortly before reaching the coastal city of Semarang. It was the co-pilot's flying leg, so I was doing the radios and calculations to confirm what our FMC predicts will be our fuel on landing, from there we calculate the expected landing weight, and therefore our planned approach speed. As I was listening to the first officer's approach brief, Jakarta Center called us over the radio, telling us there would be a short delay of around 15 minutes as Solo had run out of parking spots. All the flights to Jogja have been diverted to Solo because the runway at Jogja needed repairs.
We acknowledged the delay and informed them that it would be no problem, we carried extra fuel due to the possibility of the delay. We descended a bit late as we expected to be holding for a while over Solo. There was an a Lion MD-80 infront of us, and Adam Air 737-200 behind. They had descended as normal, and we were a bit higher. I suggested to my friend that we would make sure we hold our position in sequence. The TCAS showed us where the other two aircraft are, and I would watch what the Adam jet is doing, the last thing I want is him descending fast below us and force us to loose our position, which if the ramp is as full as the ATC says, it could mean a 30 - 40 minute delay instead of 15 minutes holding above. As he tried to sneak in from below, I suggested my friend to speed up and descend just a tad faster.
The last waypoint before entering the Solo terminal area is PURWO, I told him "reach PURWO as close as we can to the Lion in front." As we approach PURWO, I saw the MD80 make the right turn south towards Solo, and we'd enter the Jogja Military Control Zone, with a narrow corridor for civilian flights. As we reached PURWO, we hear 1 jet depart Solo from runway 08 and was told to make a direct left turn to PURWO, and the MD80 was told to continue with the ILS approach procedure for runway 26. As we descended below 10,000ft and called Jogja Approach, we were told to make a slight right turn for spacing with the departing traffic, and so did the Adam 737. We were soon told to proceed to SLO VOR and commence holding, and then the Adam Air 737 was told the same, but to hold 1000ft above us.
I checked the fuel, to determine how long we can hold before we had to divert, and we can take 40 minutes of holding. I asked Approach and they informed me that it was going to be another 30 minutes. Great, 10 minutes cushion. As we made the turn inbound into the VOR in the pattern, I saw the 737-200 above just turning to the outbound track. Soon, another aircraft joined the pattern. The first officer can see the airport from his right seat, and he said it was full.
The purser came into the cockpit and asked how long the delay was going to be, as several passengers have been asking why we're flying in circles. Oh damn, I forgot to make an announcement, so I made it.
15 minutes into the hold, I heard 2 aircraft started up to fly back to Jakarta. OK, won't be long now. We recalculated our weight and landing speeds, not much change, but it's better that way. On the next inbound, 1 entered the runway and another was holding short of the runway. Then we were told to make the ILS approach after the next inbound leg of the hold. I made a short announcement that we would land shortly.
We landed normally and our landing roll was short, as I took control of the airplane, the tower told us to take the next exit to the right onto the northern apron, where the unfinished terminal was. As we turned, I saw that the ramp was full, but we found the empty spot waiting for us, and another next to it. One aircraft from the main terminal apron entered the runway and the Adam Air 737 had to wait.
After parking and shutting down, the doors were opened and I saw 1 staircase being pulled from another aircraft and manhandled towards us. The bus was waiting to take the passengers to the terminal, but it wasn't the airport bus (run by the air force), it was a city bus. I guess due to all the diversion into Solo, they'd need all the buses available. As we completed the post shut down checks and filled in the necessary forms, I looked out and saw that the passengers were waiting below, and some were leaving the bus. Hey, this is strange.
After finishing, the passengers were still there on the tarmac and no buses? I told the first officer that I would be doing the walkaround check. As I opened the cockpit door, the aircraft was still half full, and one of the cabin crew were trying to calm several passengers. The purser told me that there was no bus to take the passengers to the terminal. Several passengers demanded that I get them a bus. I walked down the stairs to the apron and several more passengers complained about no buses, and that only 1 staircase was used instead of the normal 2. As I assured several passengers waiting on the tarmac that the bus would be on the way, the Adam Air 737 that landed after us had buses waiting for them, albeit with no stairs. Something's not right, but I decided to do the walkaround first and if the bus isn't here by the time I finished, it was time to call the station manager.
1 passenger followed me as I walked to the right hand side of the aircraft, he called me, so I attended to him.
"What kind of show are you running around here? You call yourself an airline?"
"Excuse me sir, what do you mean?"
"We've been waiting down here for 20 minutes! What kind of an airline are you?"
"Sir, I'm sure a bus will be here as soon as it is available."
"That's not acceptable! I'm going to report this to your management, and report you and your crew as well!"
I don't have time for people like this. I rolled my sleeves up in the morning sun.
"Sir, a bus WILL BE ON ITS WAY SHORTLY" and I walked off continuing with the walkaround. I saw one of the station staff and called him over and asked why the passengers have to wait.
The ground staff told me that it's been like this since all the Jogja flights diverted here and also the extra flights due to the earthquake. The station manager arranged with the Adam station manager to borrow the buses they hired, and it was waiting for us, but then before the first bus was full, they cancelled the deal and the buses had to wait for the Adam Air that had just come in.
"But they have no stairs!"
"I know Capt, but we couldn't force them."
As I completed the walkaround, the rude passenger approached me again.
"See, this is unacceptable! You guys are a lousy airline! You can't even tell the airport to get a bus to take us to the terminal!"
Maybe my patience had disappeared temporarily, but I thought that guy needed a good telling off.
"Sir, do you know where we are? Do you know what happened yesterday? Did you read the news?"
"Yes, so what?"
"Look around sir! Have you seen Solo this busy? Do you know what all the flights to Jogja has been told to land here instead? Do you know that the airport cannot just take 10 buses today for you and send them back tomorrow? Do you know this region is in an emergency situation?"
I noticed a few passengers were looking at me.
"Sir, feel free to report to whoever you want! But for God's sake realize the situation!"
I went back to the cockpit and explained the situation to passengers who are still inside. At least they understood the situation. I myself am not happy about the delay. Not long afterwards, the normal airport buses came along and took the passengers to the terminal. As soon as the airplane was empty, we started boarding as the airport wants us to leave as soon as we can to free up the parking slots.
As we finished boarding and the pax count was completed, a groundstaff came into the flight deck and told us they had no towtruck! Oh no! More delays! Then more bad news, they needed the staircase elsewhere, so we had to close the door but wait. I pulled out my mobile phone and called Ops in Jakarta to explain the situation, they also gave me the Solo station manager's number.
I called the station manager and he was very apologetic. He said it would be at least 10 minutes before the tow truck and tow bar MAY be available. I closed the conversation and shrugged my shoulders and told the first officer of the extra delay, then my phone rang, it was the station manager, apparently he had some good news. He said he was able to "borrow" Adam Air's tow bar and a tow truck.
"What do you mean "borrow"?"
"Well, we share the tow truck, they got their own tow bar, so I told the truck driver to push you first!"
"OK, how much did you give him for the towbar?"
"50,000" (US$5.5)
2 minutes later the towbar was hooked and we were cleared for the push and start. We were 1 hour 30 minutes late, but we were on our way. I told the ground engineer to thank the station manager for his efforts and told him to let the tow bar to another aircraft before giving it back to Adam.
"Don't worry Capt, they got a problem that will need about another hour to fix."
It was my leg to fly, we chased our schedule in the air. We cut 10-15 minutes off that leg by asking for highspeed below 10,000ft, flying on the speed limit throughout until the final approach. By the end of the 4 flights, we were down 30 minute delay. Not a bad catch up, if you know what you're doing!
Catching up with delays require good teamwork from the cockpit crew, the cabin crew, and the ground staff, plus some persuasion with the ATC. We could catch up a few more minutes that day, but it would risk us ending up with an incident or even an accident.
The route took us over the north coast of Java, and we would descend shortly before reaching the coastal city of Semarang. It was the co-pilot's flying leg, so I was doing the radios and calculations to confirm what our FMC predicts will be our fuel on landing, from there we calculate the expected landing weight, and therefore our planned approach speed. As I was listening to the first officer's approach brief, Jakarta Center called us over the radio, telling us there would be a short delay of around 15 minutes as Solo had run out of parking spots. All the flights to Jogja have been diverted to Solo because the runway at Jogja needed repairs.
We acknowledged the delay and informed them that it would be no problem, we carried extra fuel due to the possibility of the delay. We descended a bit late as we expected to be holding for a while over Solo. There was an a Lion MD-80 infront of us, and Adam Air 737-200 behind. They had descended as normal, and we were a bit higher. I suggested to my friend that we would make sure we hold our position in sequence. The TCAS showed us where the other two aircraft are, and I would watch what the Adam jet is doing, the last thing I want is him descending fast below us and force us to loose our position, which if the ramp is as full as the ATC says, it could mean a 30 - 40 minute delay instead of 15 minutes holding above. As he tried to sneak in from below, I suggested my friend to speed up and descend just a tad faster.
The last waypoint before entering the Solo terminal area is PURWO, I told him "reach PURWO as close as we can to the Lion in front." As we approach PURWO, I saw the MD80 make the right turn south towards Solo, and we'd enter the Jogja Military Control Zone, with a narrow corridor for civilian flights. As we reached PURWO, we hear 1 jet depart Solo from runway 08 and was told to make a direct left turn to PURWO, and the MD80 was told to continue with the ILS approach procedure for runway 26. As we descended below 10,000ft and called Jogja Approach, we were told to make a slight right turn for spacing with the departing traffic, and so did the Adam 737. We were soon told to proceed to SLO VOR and commence holding, and then the Adam Air 737 was told the same, but to hold 1000ft above us.
I checked the fuel, to determine how long we can hold before we had to divert, and we can take 40 minutes of holding. I asked Approach and they informed me that it was going to be another 30 minutes. Great, 10 minutes cushion. As we made the turn inbound into the VOR in the pattern, I saw the 737-200 above just turning to the outbound track. Soon, another aircraft joined the pattern. The first officer can see the airport from his right seat, and he said it was full.
The purser came into the cockpit and asked how long the delay was going to be, as several passengers have been asking why we're flying in circles. Oh damn, I forgot to make an announcement, so I made it.
15 minutes into the hold, I heard 2 aircraft started up to fly back to Jakarta. OK, won't be long now. We recalculated our weight and landing speeds, not much change, but it's better that way. On the next inbound, 1 entered the runway and another was holding short of the runway. Then we were told to make the ILS approach after the next inbound leg of the hold. I made a short announcement that we would land shortly.
We landed normally and our landing roll was short, as I took control of the airplane, the tower told us to take the next exit to the right onto the northern apron, where the unfinished terminal was. As we turned, I saw that the ramp was full, but we found the empty spot waiting for us, and another next to it. One aircraft from the main terminal apron entered the runway and the Adam Air 737 had to wait.
After parking and shutting down, the doors were opened and I saw 1 staircase being pulled from another aircraft and manhandled towards us. The bus was waiting to take the passengers to the terminal, but it wasn't the airport bus (run by the air force), it was a city bus. I guess due to all the diversion into Solo, they'd need all the buses available. As we completed the post shut down checks and filled in the necessary forms, I looked out and saw that the passengers were waiting below, and some were leaving the bus. Hey, this is strange.
After finishing, the passengers were still there on the tarmac and no buses? I told the first officer that I would be doing the walkaround check. As I opened the cockpit door, the aircraft was still half full, and one of the cabin crew were trying to calm several passengers. The purser told me that there was no bus to take the passengers to the terminal. Several passengers demanded that I get them a bus. I walked down the stairs to the apron and several more passengers complained about no buses, and that only 1 staircase was used instead of the normal 2. As I assured several passengers waiting on the tarmac that the bus would be on the way, the Adam Air 737 that landed after us had buses waiting for them, albeit with no stairs. Something's not right, but I decided to do the walkaround first and if the bus isn't here by the time I finished, it was time to call the station manager.
1 passenger followed me as I walked to the right hand side of the aircraft, he called me, so I attended to him.
"What kind of show are you running around here? You call yourself an airline?"
"Excuse me sir, what do you mean?"
"We've been waiting down here for 20 minutes! What kind of an airline are you?"
"Sir, I'm sure a bus will be here as soon as it is available."
"That's not acceptable! I'm going to report this to your management, and report you and your crew as well!"
I don't have time for people like this. I rolled my sleeves up in the morning sun.
"Sir, a bus WILL BE ON ITS WAY SHORTLY" and I walked off continuing with the walkaround. I saw one of the station staff and called him over and asked why the passengers have to wait.
The ground staff told me that it's been like this since all the Jogja flights diverted here and also the extra flights due to the earthquake. The station manager arranged with the Adam station manager to borrow the buses they hired, and it was waiting for us, but then before the first bus was full, they cancelled the deal and the buses had to wait for the Adam Air that had just come in.
"But they have no stairs!"
"I know Capt, but we couldn't force them."
As I completed the walkaround, the rude passenger approached me again.
"See, this is unacceptable! You guys are a lousy airline! You can't even tell the airport to get a bus to take us to the terminal!"
Maybe my patience had disappeared temporarily, but I thought that guy needed a good telling off.
"Sir, do you know where we are? Do you know what happened yesterday? Did you read the news?"
"Yes, so what?"
"Look around sir! Have you seen Solo this busy? Do you know what all the flights to Jogja has been told to land here instead? Do you know that the airport cannot just take 10 buses today for you and send them back tomorrow? Do you know this region is in an emergency situation?"
I noticed a few passengers were looking at me.
"Sir, feel free to report to whoever you want! But for God's sake realize the situation!"
I went back to the cockpit and explained the situation to passengers who are still inside. At least they understood the situation. I myself am not happy about the delay. Not long afterwards, the normal airport buses came along and took the passengers to the terminal. As soon as the airplane was empty, we started boarding as the airport wants us to leave as soon as we can to free up the parking slots.
As we finished boarding and the pax count was completed, a groundstaff came into the flight deck and told us they had no towtruck! Oh no! More delays! Then more bad news, they needed the staircase elsewhere, so we had to close the door but wait. I pulled out my mobile phone and called Ops in Jakarta to explain the situation, they also gave me the Solo station manager's number.
I called the station manager and he was very apologetic. He said it would be at least 10 minutes before the tow truck and tow bar MAY be available. I closed the conversation and shrugged my shoulders and told the first officer of the extra delay, then my phone rang, it was the station manager, apparently he had some good news. He said he was able to "borrow" Adam Air's tow bar and a tow truck.
"What do you mean "borrow"?"
"Well, we share the tow truck, they got their own tow bar, so I told the truck driver to push you first!"
"OK, how much did you give him for the towbar?"
"50,000" (US$5.5)
2 minutes later the towbar was hooked and we were cleared for the push and start. We were 1 hour 30 minutes late, but we were on our way. I told the ground engineer to thank the station manager for his efforts and told him to let the tow bar to another aircraft before giving it back to Adam.
"Don't worry Capt, they got a problem that will need about another hour to fix."
It was my leg to fly, we chased our schedule in the air. We cut 10-15 minutes off that leg by asking for highspeed below 10,000ft, flying on the speed limit throughout until the final approach. By the end of the 4 flights, we were down 30 minute delay. Not a bad catch up, if you know what you're doing!
Catching up with delays require good teamwork from the cockpit crew, the cabin crew, and the ground staff, plus some persuasion with the ATC. We could catch up a few more minutes that day, but it would risk us ending up with an incident or even an accident.
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