Plane carrying ministers lands safely in thick haze
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
An Air Force plane carrying Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla and several other ministers landed safely on Saturday in the Central Kalimantan capital of Palangkaraya despite the thick haze caused by forest fires.
The Hercules was the first plane to land at the Tjilik Riwut Airport since it was closed on Aug. 26 due to the thick smoke blanketing the city and neighboring areas.
"For almost 15 minutes we flew around over the airport while asking for help from the tower to locate the runway, because visibility was only 300 meters," the aircraft's 39-year-old pilot, Lt. Col. Jeffri, was quoted by Antara as saying.
The Hercules A-1314 landed safely at about 3 p.m.
Jeffri said that planes should only fly with a visibility of at least 1,500 meters, but that with his 4,000 hours of flight time and help from the tower Saturday's high-risk landing was possible.
The pilot said almost all of the 40 passengers, including Kalla, Minister of Health Achmad Sujudi, State Minister for the Environment Nabiel Makarim and Minister of Regional Infrastructure and Resettlement Sunarno, looked "pale" as they exited the plane.
Also traveling with Kalla were foreign diplomats and the heads of several United Nations agencies based in Jakarta.
Hamid Awaluddin, a member of Kalla's staff, said the pilot should be commended for the successful landing at the airport, where since Aug. 26 all flights had been canceled because of the choking haze.
A thick haze has blanketed Central Kalimantan and neighboring provinces for months, forcing the cancellation of flights to and from local airports.
The choking smoke has caused serious respiratory problems, skin irritations and other illnesses among locals. Singapore and Malaysia have also been affected by the haze, caused by forest and ground fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra.
Kalla, speaking after a meeting with Central Kalimantan Governor Aswawi Agani, asked all sides to join forces to extinguish the forest fires to prevent them from spreading to other parts of the province.
The senior minister said the government was continuing efforts to deal with the forest fires, but stressed that public support was badly needed.