REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, KUPANG -- A Merpati Nusantara Air Service plane failed to land at Frans Seda Airport in Maumere, returning instead to El Tari Airport in Kupang (both in East Nusa Tenggara Province) on Monday, due to bad weather.

"At 1:30 p.m. eastern Indonesia time, the M-60 plane left El Tari Airport in Kupang for Frans Seda Airport, but it could not land at Frans Seda Airport due to bad weather. The plane returned to Kupang and landed at the airport there at 3 p.m.," stated duty manager of El Tari Airport Gabriel Lusi Keraf when contacted on her cell phone on Monday.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has issued an early warning to all the people of East Nusa Tenggara Province to stay alert over the next two days as weather forecasts indicate heavy rains and strong winds.

Despite the bad weather, flights to and from El Tari Airport were still normal, with only one plane failing to land at the airport, Gabriel said.

"Flights to and from El Tari Airport are still normal, despite the strong winds and heavy rains over the past few days caused by the lower pressure front covering almost all of Indonesia," she explained.

A number of planes took off from the airport on Monday, including the Jakarta-bound Lion Air Boeing plane, TransNusa, Susi Air, and Merpati Nusantara Air's narrow body planes, she noted.

"The bad weather has led to a delay in a number of flights to El Tari Airport as visibility is less than 10 meters," she added.

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