Haze disrupts flights in Jambi and Pekanbaru

Haze disrupts flights in Jambi and Pekanbaru

Puji Santoso and Jon Afrizal, The Jakarta Post/Pekanbaru/Jambi

Thick haze from cropland and forest fires continued to worsen in
Riau and Jambi on Tuesday, disrupting more than 10 flights to and
from the two provinces, as well interfering with the activities
of residents.

A number of flights were also disrupted by haze in Jambi on
Monday.

On Tuesday, at least eight planes had to delay their
departures from or arrivals at Sultan Syarif Qasyim II Airport in
Pekanbaru, Riau.

"Between 6:30 a.m. to 8 a.m., the airport was very dark with
the visibility being reduced to only 50 meters. It's a chaotic
situation," said Sutrisno, the director of airport operator PT
Angkasa Pura I Pekanbaru.

However, flights resumed after visibility returned to 800
meters by around 9:05 a.m., he added. "The first flight to land
at Sultan Syarif Qasyim II Airport was a Lion Air plane."

Other planes forced to delay landing at the same airport
included a Merpati flight that should have arrived from Medan,
North Sumatra, at 7:30 a.m. It finally managed to touch down at
around 9:44 a.m.

A Jatayu plane, scheduled to land at 7:45 a.m., arrived from
Medan a half an hour later.

Meanwhile, a Mandala flight that should have departed for
Jakarta at 7 a.m., left Pekanbaru 90 minutes later, and a Merpati
plane and a Riau Airlines plane had to delay departing for
Malaysia by 30 minutes each .

Despite the poor visibility, no flights were canceled or
diverted to other airports, Sutrisno said, adding that his office
had warned airlines to delay flights both to and from Pekanbaru
until after the visibility returned to normal.

However in Jambi, a Sriwijaya Air plane from Jakarta failed to
land at around 8:30 a.m., despite repeated attempts. It was later
diverted to the airport in Palembang, South Sumatra.

Sultan Thaha Airport director M. Sidabutar said that Jambi
governor Zulkifli Nurdin was among the passengers on board the
plane.

Other disrupted flights included ones belonging to Mandala
Airlines, Jatayu Airlines and Batavia Air, all flying from
Jakarta.

"To anticipate the possibility of the situation worsening, we
always provide every flight with data on the weather at the
airport. It's the prerogative of companies to decide what to do
with their flights," Sidabutar said.

Aryana Yasin, the director of the Meteorology and Geophysics
Agency's office at Sultan Thaha airport, said the thick haze had
reduced the visibility to between 200 and 400 meters.

The normal visibility for flights is between 1.5 and 2.2
kilometers, he added.

"I would ask all pilots to increase their alertness and to
always seek directions from the airport before taking off and
landing," Aryana said.

Separately, the Jambi Environmental Impact Control Agency
(Bapedalda) warned that the air quality in the city had been
categorized as dangerous to human health for the last two days.

Many residents were seen wearing masks in the street across
Jambi, but local health officials advised them to stay at home to
prevent them developing respiratory problems.

Many residents of Pekanbaru were also complaining of thick
smoke from forest fires.

Ira Tania alias Mimi, 23, from Rintis subdistrict, said that
the haze given both her and her husband coughs.

"My eyes are also sore," she said.