SANDAKAN – The body of the late Tan Sri Joseph Kurup who died in Kuala Lumpur yesterday could not be flown to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, due to flight cancellations resulting from the ash cloud from Mount Ruang’s volcanic eruption.
Scoop has learned that the flight to transport his body was originally scheduled to depart Kuala Lumpur at 9.15am today, with the memorial service to start at noon at Fook Lu Siew Funeral Parlour in Kota Kinabalu, following his arrival.
His son, deputy agriculture and food security minister Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup, told Scoop that the family is on standby as soon as the next flight is available to transport his body back to Sabah.
Kurup, a prominent Sabah political veteran and founder of Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah died at the National Heart Institute in Kuala Lumpur yesterday at the age of 79.
Mount Ruang’s eruption on Tuesday morning in northern Sulawesi and the resulting ash cloud has resulted in the cancellation of numerous flights between peninsula and Sabah and Sarawak.
Malaysia Airlines cancelled 19 flights from KLIA to destinations in Sabah and Sarawak today, comprising 11 to and fro Sabah, with eight flights involving Sarawak.
AirAsia cancelled all of its flights to Sabah, Sarawak, and Brunei from 10 am today until tomorrow morning, while Batik Air has cancelled its East Malaysia routes, from and to Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Tawau, and Sibu.
AirAsia, however, has reinstated certain flights this evening, involving the Bintulu, Kuching, Sibu, Johor Bahru and Kota Bharu routes, as well as between Kota Kinabalu and Miri, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Tawau, Hong Kong, Taipei and Shenzhen.
In Sabah, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said over 20,000 passengers were affected today by the flight cancellations at airports in Kota Kinabalu, Labuan, Tawau and Sandakan. – April 18, 2024