An earthquake and tsunami struck near Palu, in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia on 28 September 2018, which caused major damage and inexpressible suffering. The ICAO APAC Regional Office supported rescue and recovery operations by coordinating between Indonesian officials and ICAO HQ/UN agencies to facilitate airborne emergency services and aid, including confirming the availability of aerodrome facilities and ATS.
At the 55th DGCA APAC Conference in Fiji on 23 October 2018, the APAC Office, through the ICAO Secretary General, honoured the professionalism shown by Mr. Anthonius Gunawan Agung, who sacrificed his life to ensure the safety of a flight of passengers while performing his duties as an air traffic controller during the earthquake and tsunami at Mutiara Sis Aljufry (WAFF) airport, by presenting a plaque to an AirNav Indonesia representative on behalf of the family of Mr. Agung.