Haze affects traffic flow at Pontianak airport

Haze affects traffic flow at Pontianak airport

PONTIANAK, West Kalimantan (JP): The haze blanketing the West
Kalimantan capital of Pontianak has affected airplanes landing
and taking off at the local airport before 8 a.m. since Sunday.

Flights have been delayed for between 75 minutes and 90
minutes because visibility at the airport in the morning has been
reduced to between 100 meters and 200 meters.

Flights after about 8:30 a.m. have not been affected because
visibility improves to about 1,000 meters by this time.

Ida, the spokeswoman for PT Angkasa Pura II at the Supadio
Airport, said planes landing and taking off after 9 a.m. were not
affected. The state-owned PT Angkasa Pura manages the airport.

She said six Bouraq, Pelita, Merpati, Deraya, DAS and Garuda
flights had been affected by the haze.

The delays have not caused the airlines to suffer financial
losses.

"The haze has just disrupted our flight schedules. Passengers
have complained about the delays," Syamsul, a Garuda staffer
based in Pontianak, told The Jakarta Post.

Planes belonging to Malaysia Airline Service (MAS) plying the
Pontianak-Kuching (East Malaysia) route took off as normal at
11:50 a.m. on Monday. MAS is the only foreign airline operating
in West Kalimantan.

West Kalimantan and the southern part of Sumatra island were
the first regions affected by a thick smog this year.

But the haze is now reportedly creeping over the neighboring
province of Central Kalimantan. Visibility was only 10 meters
before 6 a.m. in Palangkaraya.

As in 1997, when a thick smoke from Sumatra affected several
neighboring countries, the haze is again reportedly beginning to
affect neighboring countries.

Reports said that a haze floated across southern Thailand over
the weekend.

Fishermen were forced to stay in port as a thick choking haze
covered Thailand's southern provinces of Songkhala, Pattani,
Narayhiwat, Yala and Satun, bordering Malaysia, since Friday,
with visibility less than one kilometer, Reuters said.

Sea transportation in Pontianak has also been disrupted for
the last three days, with visibility on the Kapuas River in
Pontianak between 20 meters and 50 meters before 8 a.m.

Vessels which usually start their operation before 6 a.m have
had to wait until after 8 a.m. before leaving port.

"I am afraid of an accident. My visibility is about 20
meters," said Marijan, a 45-year-old pilot in Siantan.

The head of the West Kalimantan Communications Office, Slam
Susanto, has called on transportation operators to be more
careful to avoid accidents in the thick smog.

The provincial Meteorological and Geophysics Agency has
forecast that the dry season will be longer than usual this year,
fueling concern that the haze in Pontianak will worsen.

The areas most affected by the haze in Pontianak are the
airport, Sungai Raya, Kota Baru, Rasau Jaya, Sungai Ambawang and
the southern part of the city. Haze begins covering these areas
at 5:30 p.m. and gradually disperses after 7 a.m.

The city health office in Pontianak distributed on Monday
10,000 protective masks to pedestrians and motorists. (46/sur)