Haze Paralyzes Flight Service In Batam's Hang Nadim Airport

Batam, Riau Islands, Oct 13 (Antara) - Numerous flights in Hang Nadim International Airport in Batam, Riau Islands Province, were delayed or cancelled due to the haze that engulfed several provinces in Sumatra. The haze enveloped destination airports leading to the cancellation and postponement of numerous flights, the Hang Nadim international airport`s safety Chief Indah Irwansyah noted here on Monday. Among the postponed flights were Sriwijaya SJ-886 from Jambi, Lion Air JT-237 to Pekanbaru, Lion Air JT-246 from Palembang, and Citilink QG-930 from Palembang. Lion Air JT-238 from Pekanbaru to Batam was canceled. Over the past several weeks, haze has shrouded Jambi, South Sumatra, Riau, and North Sumatra. On Sunday (Oct. 12), several flights from Batam`s Hang Nadim International Airport to Pekanbaru, Silangit, Palembang, and Jakarta, were canceled or postponed due to the haze. Lion Air JT-237 heading to Pekanbaru, Riau Province, was delayed from 9:10 a.m. to 12:45 a.m. local time as haze arising from the forest and plantation fires enveloped Pekanbaru, Indah Irwansyah, the head of the Batam Hang Nadim international airport`s fight safety chief, remarked here on Sunday. "Information from Palembang and Pekanbaru said the visibility there is very poor, so it is impossible to fly there," he revealed. Citilink QG-930 from Palembang was scheduled to land in Batam at 10 a.m. local time, but it was postponed for several hours due to the haze. Wings Air also cancelled its Flight No. IW-1299 from Silangit (North Sumatra) to Batam due to the haze. Some 353 hotspots of forest and plantation fires were detected across Sumatra Island on Oct. 10. "Based on the data received from the Terra and Aqua satellites in Sumatra this morning, 353 hotspots were detected, with the majority in South Sumatra," Head of the Pekanbaru meteorological, climatology and geophysics office Sugarin stated. The number significantly increased from 75 hotspots recorded on the previous day. South Sumatra had 284 hotspots, Jambi 26, Riau 24, Bangka Belitung 10, and Lampung nine hotspots. In Riau Province, 24 hotspots were detected on Wednesday, up from four on the previous day. The hotspots were detected in Indragiri Hilir (18), Rokan Hulu (three), Pelalawan (two), and Indragiri Hulu (one).