Haze forces
\nGaruda plane to
\ncancel landing
\nin N. Sumatra<\/p>\n
Apriadi Gunawan
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nMedan<\/p>\n
Thick haze from forest fires on the island of Sumatra and
\nneighboring Malaysia have forced airlines to cancel flights to
\nMedan, the capital of North Sumatra, due to reduced visibility,
\nlocal officials said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
A Garuda plane, carrying 454 Indonesian pilgrims from Mecca in
\nSaudi Arabia, had to cancel landing at Medan's Polonia Airport on
\nWednesday night and was rerouted to Sepang International Airport
\nin Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Polonia Airport head Risman Nuryadin confirmed it was the
\nlimited visibility, caused by thick smoke covering its runways,
\nwhich had forced the aircraft to cancel landing there.<\/p>\n
He said the visibility at the airport was down to only 800
\nmeters on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
After having circled Medan three times at 8:20 p.m., the pilot
\ndecided to reroute the aircraft and land at Sepang Airport,
\nRisman said.<\/p>\n
From Sepang, the plane had to cancel landing again at Polonia
\nAirport at 3:20 p.m. on Thursday and flew to Jakarta, where it
\nwas scheduled to land at Soekarno Hatta International Airport at
\n7:30 p.m., said Garuda officials in Medan.<\/p>\n
It was not clear why the Garuda Boeing 747 chose to land in
\nJakarta on Thursday, despite the improving visibility in Medan.<\/p>\n
Risman said that with 800-meter visibility on Wednesday night,
\nthe plane should have been able to land in Polonia as it was
\nstill above the safety minimum.<\/p>\n
However, the pilot decided not to land probably for other
\nconsiderations apart from the poor visibility, he said. \"There
\nare many factors that could cause landing to fail, such as the
\nplane's performance, the load it is carrying, the length of
\nrunways and visibility,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Risman said that in Europe, even when there is no visibility,
\nflights were operated normally due to their fully equipped
\nnavigation system.<\/p>\n
He said visibility had improved to 1,000 meters on Thursday
\nafternoon in Medan and that was why there was no need to alter
\nflight schedules there.<\/p>\n
Over the next few weeks, the thick haze is expected to ease as
\nrain is due, he said.<\/p>\n
The smoke blanketing Medan has been blamed for a collision
\nbetween KM Curug Mas cargo boat, carrying containers from
\nSingapore, and a dredger, the Flores, on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The collision disrupted sea traffic along the Belawan coast
\nbefore the ill-fated cargo vessel was towed away two hours later.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of hot spots were detected in forests and cropland in
\nSumatra, primarily in the province of Riau, sending thick smoke
\nacross the island over the past several days.<\/p>\n
In the Riau town of Dumai, local officials said visibility was
\nlimited to between 50 meters and 100 meters on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Dumai Mayor Wan Syamsir Yus said many residents wore masks as
\nthe thick smoke had threatened their health and safety.<\/p>\n
\"Today (Thursday) the town of Dumai is dark because sunshine
\ncannot penetrate the smoky haze,\" he told Antara.<\/p>\n
Environmentalists in Riau urged the local administration to
\ntemporarily close schools until conditions improve, while health
\nofficials in Medan admitted that the thick haze has led to more
\npeople suffering from respiratory problems.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/haze-forces-1447899208",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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