TEMPO.CO, Pekanbaru - Thick haze caused by the forest and peatland fires in a number of areas in Riau province has disrupted a number of flights at Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport in Pekanbaru, the provincial capital.
Five flights, both departing and leaving from the airport, have experienced delay, while two planes canceled their landing at the airport. Visibility is reportedly to be just around 400 meters.
"The haze is so thick that it covers the runway. It also reduces visibility," said Airport Duty Manager to Tempo this morning.
The five airlines that delayed their flights were Air Asia AK 1341 from Kuala Lumpur, Lion Air JT 390 from Jakarta, Garuda 172 from Jakarta, Citilink QG 932 from Batam, and Batik Air ID 6855 from Pekanbaru bound to Jakarta.
In the meantime, two airlines that canceled landing at the airport were Silk Air MI 252 from Singapore that was forced to go back to Changi Airport and Batik Air ID 6852 from Jakarta that diverted the route to Hang Nadim airport in Batam.
"The planes will fly once the visibility has gone back to normal," Baiquni said. The flights at the airport had actually been back to normal since 6 this morning with the visibility reaching 1,500 meters. Ten flights had landed and took off normally, Baiquni added.
However, the weather took turn for the worse as the haze got thicker in Riau, causing the visibility drop to just 400 meters.
RIYAN NOFITRA