A Silk Air plane was forced to return to Singapore after visibility
at Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport on Wednesday morning dropped
drastically due to haze from forest fires.
The airport’s duty
manager, Baiquni, said the airplane was scheduled to land in Pekanbaru
at 7 a.m. local time on Wednesday. The Silk Air pilot, however, reported
that poor visibility at the airport did not allow for a landing and he
decided to return to Singapore.
“The aircraft should’ve landed
at 7 a.m. but visibility dropped to below 300 meters so the pilot
decided to return to base,” said Baiquni on Wednesday as quoted by
Antara news agency.
He said visibility was poor at the airport this morning but later improved to 800 meters at midday.
“Thick
clouds of haze have disrupted flights over the last two days,” said
Baiquni. Several domestic flights have also been delayed due to haze, he
added.
Garuda Indonesia, Lion Air and Mandala aircraft serving
the Jakarta-Pekanbaru route were rerouted to Kuala Namu International
Airport in Medan on Wednesday morning.
“Passenger departures from Pekanbaru were also delayed, waiting for the arrival of the aircraft,” said Baiquni.
Flight traffic has reportedly returned to normal, with an AirAsia plane from Medan recently landing in Pekanbaru.
“We
have taken measures to prevent hordes of passengers in the terminal,”
said Baiquni. Several passengers and airport officials were forced to
use face masks as the haze posed serious health hazards. (Jakarta Post)
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Haze forces Silk Air plane to abort landing
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