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)