More Indonesia airports affected by haze from land fires

More airports are being affected by the haze in Indonesia as flights continue to be disrupted.

The head of the public communication center at the Ministry of Transportation, J.A. Barata, said in a written statement on Friday that the number of airports affected by the haze from land fires had risen to 21 on Friday from 16 on Thursday.

He said the five airports that were affected by the haze were the airports in Nangah Pinoh (West Kalimantan), Palembang (Sumatra), Pekanbaru (Sumatra) and Balikpapan (Kalimantan).

Other similar airports are in Melak (East Kalimantan), Pangkalan Bun (Central Kalimantan), Banjarmasin (South Kalimantan), Pontianak (West Kalimantan, Jambi (Sumatra), Sampit (Central Kalimantan), Putusibau (West Kalimantan), Samarinda (East Kalimantan), Sintang (West Kalimantan, Ketapang (West Kalimantan), Long Apung (North Kalimantan), Sampir, Muara Teweh and Palangkaraya all in Kalimantan provinces.

"Until today, visibility in Jambi (Sumatra) is still 600 meters. Three general flights plus a hajj flight have been rescheduled, while others have been cancelled," he said.

Among the flights that have been rescheduled are Garuda Indonesias GIA 132/133, serving Jakarta-Jambi-Jakarta, while a Lion Air Jakarta-Jambi flight remained grounded over night.

Barata said cancellations and delays had also been reported at the Syamsuddin Noor Airport in Banjarmasin (Kalimantan). A total of 13 flights at the airport have been delayed and two cancelled.

The Rahadi Usman Airport in Ketapang (Kalimantan) recorded six delays, the Iskandar Airport in Pangkalan Bun five delays and one cancellation, the Tjilik Riwut Airport in Palangkaraya eight delays and three cancellations, the Beringing Muara Airport in Muara Teweh three cancellations, the Haji Asan Airport in Sampit four delays and the Susilo Airport in Sintang two delays and the Pangsuma Airport in Putusibau two delays.(Antara)