Three Air Force Planes Deliver 31 Tons of Aid to Labuan Bajo and Maumere

Labuan Bajo — The Indonesian government on Monday sent three Air Force aircraft carrying 31 tons of ready-to-eat supplies to East Nusa Tenggara, with the planes bound for Labuan Bajo and Maumere, according to a written statement from Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya cited by the Secretariat Cabinet website and Tempo.

The shipment included biscuits, wafers, protein bars, bread and other food items, as well as toys for children, the two reports said. A government release also said the six-aircraft operation at dawn was split between disaster relief for NTT and firefighting equipment for Kalimantan.

Three other Air Force aircraft were assigned to Pontianak, Palangka Raya and Banjarmasin with water pumps for wildfire response, according to the same government statement. That report said the aircraft departed around 4:30 a.m. local time from Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in Jakarta.

Relief moved through Labuan Bajo and Maumere

The NTT cargo was to be routed through Komodo Airport in Labuan Bajo and Frans Seda Airport in Maumere for onward distribution, according to Tempo and a later report on the official Cabinet Secretariat site. BNPB also said the two locations were being used as logistics support posts for distribution to affected communities.

BNPB said cumulative logistical aid distributed to earthquake-affected communities in NTT reached 1,226 tons from August 15 to 23, using 77 flight sorties and one sea vessel. In an update carried by Radio Republik Indonesia, BNPB spokesman Berton SP Panjaitan said the aid was being channelled through the Labuan Bajo and Maumere logistics posts.

A BNPB release published earlier said the agency had distributed 312,711 kilograms of aid by Air Force aircraft between August 15 and 21, including 175,118 kilograms to Labuan Bajo and 137,593 kilograms to Maumere. It also said a further 465 tons had been delivered by commercial cargo flights funded from BNPB’s emergency reserve fund.

On that basis, the latest 31-ton dispatch formed part of a wider air bridge supporting communities recovering from the earthquake. The government and BNPB reports said the main hubs were Labuan Bajo and Maumere, where relief stock was then forwarded to districts including those still difficult to reach by road.

BNPB’s logistics post at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in Jakarta had also received large volumes of supplies from government institutions, the military, police, local administrations, businesses and humanitarian organisations, according to the agency. The agency said four more military transport sorties were scheduled for August 22 with a combined capacity of about 47 tons.

In the government statement, officials said the airlift was part of a coordinated emergency response to disaster-hit parts of eastern Indonesia. The aircraft were carrying high-priority food supplies and essential relief items as authorities worked to keep the distribution chain moving from the regional hubs.

Sources

• Sekretariat Kabinet Republik Indonesia
• Tempo
• Radio Republik Indonesia
• BNPB