Smoke Disrupts Scheduled Passenger Services at Batam Airport
1 September 2015 13:00 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Scores of flights heading towards Batam's Hang Nadim Airport - especially those originating from Palembang, Pekanbaru and Medan - have had to battle intense, thick fog across the region, which is caused by the widespread forest fires in mainland Sumatra.
In fact, several flights have been delayed or cancelled - among the flights that were cancelled is Citilink Indonesia flight QG930 from Palembang, which had initially been scheduled to land in Batam at 10:00 Local time.
Lion Air flight JT957 from Medan - which was scheduled to land at 10:40 local time, have also been cancelled, which flight JT3238 from Pekanbaru, have been delayed, despite the fact that it was supposed to have landed in Batam Airport on 09:25 local time.
Another flight which was cancelled is Lion Air's flight JT827 from Batam to Padang, which was supposed to have taken off at 11:25 local time. "We have had to cancel several other flights - including one Wings Air flight to Tanjung Karang. However, the cancellation for that particular flight was due to the low load factor, not the smoke," said the Head of Hang Nadim International Airport's General Manager, Suwarso.
It is known that the low load factor due to the upcoming low season, have necessitated the cancellations of several scheduled passenger services to and from Batam Airport. "Some airlines have begun to dial down the number of services per day, but the majority of the cancellations on Monday was caused by the smoke, which has limited visibility," said Suwarso.
It is known that on Monday, two flights from Jambi and another from Pekanbaru bound for Batam had to be delayed due to the thick smoke - and as per today, both flights have yet to arrive in Batam.
Nam Air flight IN 9034 from Batam to Medan, which was supposed to fly out using a similar aircraft at 09:30 local time, have also had to be delayed. Other flights which has been disrupted by the smoke includes Lion Air's JT 2236 from Pekanbaru, and Garuda Indonesia flight GA270 from Medan.
ANTARA
