Indonesia: Haze disrupts flights at Batam airport

Antara 1 Sep 15;

Batam, Riau Islands (ANTARA News) - The haze from forest and bush fires disrupted numerous flights from several cities in Sumatra Island such as Palembang, Pekanbaru, Padang, and Medan to Batam Island, Tuesday morning, the Hang Nadim International Airport authority revealed.

Among the commercial flights delayed as a result of the reduced visibility were Citilinks QG-930 and Lion Airs JT-957, JT-3238, and JT-827, Head of the Hang Nadim International Airports Public Affairs Division, Suwarso, stated here Tuesday.

"A Wings Air flight bound for Tanjungkarang in Lampung Province is also delayed," he noted, adding that the thick smog, which had caused low visibility, had also disrupted two flights from Jambi Province to Batam Island in Riau Islands Province on Monday.

The flights were Lion Airs JT-139 and Nam Airs IN 9886, he remarked.

The reduced visibility, which has delayed flights at several prime airports in Sumatra Island, including Batam, Singapores closest neighbor, is due to the impact of forest and bush fires in provinces such as South Sumatra and Jambi.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has even pledged to deploy an MI-171 helicopter for conducting a water bombing mission in Jambi on Tuesday due to an increase in the number of forest and bush fires in the province.(*)

Haze disrupts flights at Balikpapan airport
thejakartapost.com 1 Sep 15;

Garuda Indonesia's flights in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, have been delayed the past two days as a result of haze.

"We have been waiting for our flight to Palangkaraya for more than two hours," said passenger Amir Syarifuddin at the Sepinggan International Airport in Balikpapan on Tuesday morning as quoted by tempo.co.

According to Garuda Indonesia public relations officer in Balikpapan Ecky Lazuardi, for the past two days flights were disrupted as a result of the haze. On Monday, the authorities of Sepinggan Airport had also delayed the carrier's departure on the Balikpapan-Palangkaraya-Pontianak route of up to four hours.

"The delay also occurred in the morning, just like today," said Ecky.

Garuda uses an ATR aircraft, which can accommodate 70 passengers, to serve the Balikpapan-Palangkaraya-Pontianak route, which, according to Ecky, has limited visibility when the air is clouded by haze.

"Of course we have to prioritize the safety of our passengers," said Ecky. (nov/kes)(++++)