Haze returns to Pontianak, interrupts flight schedules

PONTIANAK, West Kalimantan (JP): Choking haze from forest fires has returned to West Kalimantan after 10 days without any rain.

The smog reappeared after people had enjoyed clean air for almost three weeks. Haze blanketed the entire city for all of July, disrupting flights in and out of the airport.

PT Angkasa Pura II at Supadio Airport in Pontianak said on Saturday that all flight arrivals and departures were between 60 and 90 minutes behind schedule since Wednesday. PT Angkasa Pura II is a state-owned company which manages the airport.

Ida, a staff member of the company, said that airplanes scheduled to take off before 8:30 a.m. were Pelita Air, Merpati, Garuda and Bouraq, all bound for Jakarta, Dirgantara Air Service, with flights bound for Ketapang, Sintang and Putussibau, and Deraya, with flights bound for Ketapang, Pangkalan Bun and Semarang.

The head of the provincial transportation office, Salam Susanto, called on airlines not to let pilots fly in poor weather conditions.

Pontianak residents have complained about respiratory problems, influenza, colds and sore eyes.

Siantan Hulu community health center, for example, has treated dozens of children and adults for flu and eye infections. "I have had sore eyes for two days. I rode my motorbike without my sunglasses on and too much smoke got in my eyes. They are now red and painful because of infection," said Murni, a patient.

Meanwhile, Rukasi said most of the haze engulfing the city had come from several districts in West Kalimantan as some farmers in outlying areas were burning nonirrigated rice fields. He said monitoring by the NOAA mapping satellite showed there were 80 hot spots in West Kalimantan. Sintang district has the largest number, followed by Sanggau district. Other districts, including the city of Pontianak, only have two or three hot spots.

Another source of the haze was the burning of peat land around the city. As soon as the dry season arrives, local residents burn garbage in agricultural and land estates or in housing complexes.

A staff member of the Pontianak regional agency for control over the environment, Rukasi, said that air quality readings showed the haze was at a level harmful to human health and that the sun's rays were prevented from reaching the earth's surface.

Visibility in the area around Jl. Budi Utomo was between 50 and 100 meters from 2:30 a.m. to 3:50 a.m. local time, but cleared to over 1,000 meters after 7:30 a.m. on Saturday. (46)