Two flights to Jambi diverted due to limited visibility
Two flights from Jakarta to Jambi were diverted to Batam and Palembang after thick haze blanketed Jambi on Sunday (23/8) morning, reducing visibility at Sultan Thaha Airport to just 1,000 metres.
General Manager of state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura at Sultan Thaha Saifuddin Airport in Jambi, Ardon Marbun, confirmed the diversion of the two morning flights.
According to the airport’s official report, the haze affected two scheduled arrivals from Jakarta (CGK) to Jambi (DJB).
The first aircraft unable to land was Batik Air flight ID 6804, an Airbus A320 registered PK-LAT, captained by Kemas Muhammad Fatur, carrying 138 adults and one infant (POB: 138/00/01).
The flight was originally scheduled to arrive at 10:00 WIB, with an estimated arrival of 10:40 WIB. However, at 10:45 WIB, Air Traffic Control (ATC) informed the Apron Movement Control (AMC) team that Batik Air ID 6804 had been forced to divert to Batam.
The diversion came after visibility at Sultan Thaha Airport dropped to 1,000 metres due to thick haze.
The second aircraft unable to land was Super Air Jet flight IU 842, an Airbus A320 registered PK-STZ, flying from Jakarta (CGK) to Jambi (DJB) with 120 adults and one child on board.
That flight was scheduled to land at 11:25 WIB, with an estimated arrival of 11:31 WIB. However, as weather conditions around the runway had not improved, the landing was diverted to Palembang.
Ardon detailed that visibility at Sultan Thaha Airport at 09:30 WIB was still in the safe category at around 5,000 metres.
But an hour later, at 10:30 WIB, visibility had shrunk to 1,000 metres. The condition persisted until 11:30 WIB.
He confirmed that visibility has since returned to normal at 3,500 metres.
A Garuda flight from Jakarta to Jambi landed successfully at 13:44 WIB.
Meanwhile, the two aircraft diverted to Batam had not yet landed at Sultan Thaha Airport in Jambi as of midday.
“Garuda landed normally in the afternoon; only Garuda was able to land. The two morning flights that were diverted have not been able to land yet,” Ardon said.