TEMPO.CO, Banjarmasin - The city of Banjarmasin is shrouded by a thick haze, which limits a visibility to 500-1,000 meters.
According to Antara's observation this morning, the haze has forced road users to drive slowly and with extra caution. Traffic is moving slowly on Banjarmasin's main thoroughfares, and queues can be observed on several junctions in Banjarmasin's city centre.
Previously, the haze has necessitated the delaying of seven flights out of Banjarmasin's Syamsyudin Noor Airport. Syamsudin Noor Airport's Duty Officer, Suparmono said in Banjarbaru Tuesday that the delays were caused by poor visibility on the runway because of the thick smoke clouds blanketing the area.
"Visibility on the runway had dipped below 300 meters - short of the minimum required visibility of 500 meters. We temporarily suspended departures from the airport to avoid unwanted mishaps on the runway," said Suparmono.
As a result, a Garuda Indonesia flight bound for Jakarta that was supposed to take off at 06.00 was delayed for three hours until 09.00. A Lion Air flight also bound for Jakarta, was also not allowed to take off until 09.10 - around 3 hours after its scheduled departure time of 06.15.
"We also delayed the departures of five other flights because we don't want the aircrafts to take off in poor visibility conditions, which could be harmful to passenger safety," said Suparmono.
A Garuda Indonesia pilot Kaulusan said his crew had to abide by the decision of airport authorities to suspend departures due to the haze. "We must follow the instruction of airport authorities because the aircraft has not left the apron. They have the authority to suspend flights in and out of the airport," said the senior pilot.
ANTARA | IMAM HANAFI | B KUNTO WIBISONO
