Smoke cancels Medan flights

MEDAN, N. Sumatra: Thick smoke billowing from forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan briefly disrupted flight services at Medan Polonia Airport yesterday.

A Jakarta-bound Garuda Indonesia plane and Merpati flights bound for Palembang and Bandung were delayed until the smoke cleared. A Sempati plane bound for Jakarta, however, was canceled.

The smoke reduced visibility at the airport to 200 meters, compared to 1,000 meters required for safe landings, a spokesman of the provincial meteorology office said. (21/09)