Merpati suspends flights to haze-hit cities in Kalimantan

Muhammad Nafik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Merpati Nusantara Airlines has suspended flights between Jakarta and Pontianak and Palangkaraya for a week as haze resulting from forest and ground fires has significantly reduced the number of passengers.

Merpati spokesperson Yanine Waroka told The Jakarta Post on Monday the flight suspension was effective as of Monday.

"The company has decided to temporarily stop flights serving the Jakarta-Palangkaraya route and the Jakarta-Pontianak route due to bad weather caused by persistent haze," Yanine said. "If the weather continues to be bad, the suspension could be extended for several more days."

Merpati flies once a day from Jakarta to Pontianak or Palangkaraya.

"Flights to Pontianak and Palangkaraya are not economically viable for the time being as the number of travelers is declining due to the smoke," Yanine said.

She did not disclose the number.

Ronial Bekti, district manager of Merpati's Palangkaraya office, confirmed the suspension of its flights from Jakarta to the city's Tjilik Riwut airport.

Unlike Yanine, Bekti said the suspension was caused by the decrease in the number of Merpati planes currently in operation as several of them were under repair.

Despite the poor visibility, Merpati would continue serving the Surabaya-Palangkaraya route three times a week as usual, Bekti told Antara.

The haze has disrupted commercial flights for more than one week in both Palangkaraya and Pontianak.

The smoke has caused residents to seek treatment in clinics for respiratory problems, while others are wearing masks.

Local residents felt some relief on Saturday and Sunday following heavy rains which had tremendously improved the visibility.

But the haze thickened again on Monday in Pontianak, reducing visibility and forcing motorists and passers-by to don face masks.

Kusnadi, head of the fire control center at the provincial forestry office, said satellite monitoring detected at least 678 hot spots across West Kalimantan on Sunday, an increase from only 44 fires in the previous day.

The hot spots spread in several regencies: Pontianak (six), Sanggau (118), Kapuas Hulu (22) Sintang (176), Ketapang (213) and Landak (143).

West Kalimantan Governor Aspar Aswin led a two-day coordinating meeting of local regents and mayors at Pontianak's Kapuas Hotel on Monday to discuss efforts to cope with the forest fires.

The meeting discussed the follow-up to the national forestry meeting on July 9, 2002, which outlined efforts to deal with forest fires, illegal logging and deforestation.

In Palangkaraya, officials at the local weather office reported drizzle in several districts and visibility improving at two kilometers.

While in the Riau capital of Pekanbaru, residents said heavy rains continued until Monday morning, dissipating the haze which had blanketed the city for a week.

Central Kalimantan Governor Asmawi Agani was quoted by Antara as saying his administration received Rp 200 million in assistance from the central government to help tackle the problem.

The central government also provided 30,000 masks for residents in the province, he added.

The government has blamed the forest and ground fires on burning to clear land for the planting season.

Burning is cheap and popular among farmers and land concession holders.

Minister of Environment Nabiel Makarim last week said Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore have complained about the smoke blowing over their countries.

In 1997 and 1998, the worst haze in years blanketed huge areas of Southeast Asia for months, causing serious health problems, traffic hazards and disruption in airline schedules.