Two hectares grass burn at airport

TANGERANG (JP): About two hectares of fields at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Cengkareng here caught fire on Monday after becoming dry due to the prolonged dry season, an official said on Tuesday.

Airport Police chief Capt. Titik H. Valentina said the blaze started at about 3:30 p.m. and lasted about two hours before firefighters were deployed to put it out.

There were no major disturbances in the airport's traffic, she said, although the billowing smoke caused a minor delay in the flight schedule.

Tom Syahril, spokesman for the airport management PT Angkasa Pura II, said the airport was equipped with an Instrument Landing System (ILS) which is able to guide planes to land in weather obstacles such as heavy rain or fog.

"We've also asked for regular watering of the field to avoid the possibility of fire," he said. (41/edt)