Airport authority alerted to lapse in quality control after bus catches fire at Ngurah Rai last week
An airport official said today the bus that caught on fire within Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport complex last week was allegedly caused by a short circuit in the engine, highlighting a lapse in quality control of the vehicles and their operations.
“For the time being, we see there was a short circuit near the car’s battery,” Elfi Amir, who heads one of Bali’s airport authority offices, told Kumparan.
No casualties were reported from the incident, which occurred on Friday afternoon at the ground support equipment (GSE) area of the airport. The fire was promptly extinguished by airport authorities soon after, and reportedly did not affect flight or terminal operations in Ngurah Rai.
As depicted in a number of posts shared on social media, however, the scene of the fire that day appeared to be quite dramatic, with black smoke rising from the affected passenger bus.
Elfi said the incident showed a lapse in quality control, and added that drivers operating the passenger bus at the airport were not equipped to operate fire extinguishers in emergency situations.
“There should be some kind of training, of which there hasn’t been any. When he received his permit, the driver should also receive training on how to use the fire extinguishers, but in reality this doesn’t happen,” Elfi said.
He reassured that his office is working to rectify these issues, and will continue to provide guidance and recommendations in order to ensure that operations at Ngurah Rai continue to meet established standards.
