Riau airport back to normal

PEKANBARU, Riau: Activities returned to normal yesterday at Simpang Tiga International Airport which for over the past two months had been disrupted by haze, Antara reported yesterday.

Officials said since Sunday there had not been any thick smoke from forest fires blanketing the airport and preventing planes from taking off or landing.

The airport serves both domestic and international airliners such as Silk Air of Singapore and Pelangi Air of Malaysia. In previous weeks flights were often delayed or canceled due to the haze.

The head of the provincial forestry office, Darminto Soeseno, said his office had identified at least five plantation companies which had contributed to the haze by clearing land with fire.

Five thousand hectares of forests have burned, with Bengkalis regency in Indragiri Hulu being the most severely affected, he said. (swe)