Bernama 22 Jun 09;
JAKARTA, June 22 (Bernama) -- A thick smoke resulted from forest fire and land clearing has hampered flight in Riau province of Sumatra island, due to low visibility, China's Xinhua news agency reported Monday.
A plane operated by Pelita Air Service failed to land on an airport in Dumai of the province Monday morning and was forced to go to another airport, an official of the airport in charge of weather surveillance Tarman Sembiring said.
"Pelita Air Service plane could not land on airport in Dumai because of the smoke this morning. It went to Sutan Syarif Kasim airport,"he told Xinhua from the province by phone.
Visibility at Dumai decreased to over 500 meters in the morning, weather observation official of the provincial meteorology agency Sanya Gautama said.
The figure was far below the lowest limit for flight which was 1,000 meters, said Sembiring.
The airport in Dumai was closed to all flights up to 11:45 Jakarta time (0445 GMT), he said, adding that it opened again when the visibility increased up to more than 1,000 meters.
"The number of hot spots reached 90 in the province and its surrounding areas Monday, lower than 193 Sunday," Gautama told Xinhua by phone from the province.
Forest fire resulted from land clearing exercise regularly occurred in Sumatra and Borneo islands, resulting in smoke spreading up to neighbouring countries.
The smoke has often caused economic disruption by disturbing tourism and transport.
In 1997/8, the smoke has led to billions of U.S. dollars in losses, which then triggered the signing of the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution in 2002, but Indonesia has yet to ratify the agreement.
-- BERNAMA
Pekanbaru Airport closed due to haze
Antara 22 Jun 09;
Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA News) - Sultan Syarif Kasim (SSK) II Airport in Pekanbaru was closed for 90 minutes because of haze coming from plantation and forest fires on Monday.
"We have to close the airport for 90 minutes because the visibility has dropped to only 500 meters," Taslim, traffic supervisor of the Pekanbaru SSK II airport, told ANTARA here on Monday.
The minimum visibility required for the flight safety is 1,000 meters, and if the visibility is below the figure, the airport has to be closed, according to Taslim.
The Pekanbaru SSK II airport was closed from 6 am to 7.30 am local time.
At around noon, the visibility at the airport continued to increase up to 4,000 meters and the flight traffic returned to normal, he said.
Due to the airport`s closure, three flights from three different airways companies, had to be delayed from their earlier schedules, he said.
Departures of Pekanbaru-Jakarta flight by a Lion Air plane was postponed from 7 am local time to 7.40 am, as well as Pekanbaru-Jakarta flight by Mandala Air plane was delayed from 7 am to 7.45 am.
An Air Asia plane serving Pekanbaru-Jakarta route was expected to delay its landing at 10 am local time, from 8 am as earlier scheduled.
Meanwhile, haze also affected flight activities at Pinang Kampai airport in Dumai, Riau Province, on Monday.
Head of Pinang Kampai airport, Dumai City Edy S told ANTARA on the phone, Monday that the visibility was only 1,000 meters up to 11 am local time.
The Pinang Kampai airport had been closed due to the poor visibility since Monday morning, for safety reason, he said.
"The airport will be reopened when the visibility reaches 2,000 meters or above," he said.
Due to the airport`s closure, two flights by Pelita Air planes respectively chartered by PT Chevron Pacific Indonesia and PT Pertamina, had to be shifted to Sultan Syarif Kasim II airport in Pekanbaru, the capital city of Riau Province.
Haze continues blanketing Pekanbaru
The Jakarta Post 23 Jun 09;
Haze triggered by forest and plantation fires has continued to blanket Pekanbaru, Riau Province's capital, over the past month. Visibility in the city has dropped and a number of Pekanbaru residents complain that the haze is affecting their health.
MQ Rudi, a local resident, said he had started to suffer from throat irritation and respiratory problems.
"The haze lingers every day, and it gets worse in the evenings and mornings, when it gives off a strong smell," he told Antara state news agency.
The local weather agency said that 45 hotspots, which are an indication of forest or plantation fires, were detected in several districts in Riau.
Last week, Riau had to temporarily close its airport due to low visibility. (dre)
