Pekanbaru, Riau, (Antarariau.com) - Garuda Indonesia, Lion Air and Air Asia have postponed their flights to Pekanbaru, Riau, as haze from forest and plantation fires have reduced visibility to 500 meters.
Garuda was initially scheduled to land at Sultan Syarif Kasim II airport in Pekanbaru at 7 a.m., local time, and Lion Air at 8 a.m., but their landings were postponed until 10 a.m., the airport s duty manager, Baiquni, stated here on Tuesday. Garuda and Lion Air flights were flying from Jakarta.
Air Asia, too, decided to delay its flight from Bandung, West Java, to Pekanbaru by two hours, again, due to the haze.
A number of flights from Pekanbaru to other destinations were also delayed in the morning.
Pekanbaru and surrounding areas have been affected by haze over the past week. But, the visibility on Tuesday morning was the worst as it was reduced to below 500 meters between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. local time.
The Terra and Aqua Satellite detected 297 hotspots of forest fires on Sumatra Island on Tuesday morning, a significant increase from 62 hotspots detected on the previous day.
Of the total 297 hotspots, 140 hotspots were in North Sumatra, 81 in Riau province, 67 in Aceh Darussalam, three respectively in Riau Islands and West Sumatra, Bibin Sulianto, an analyst from the Pekanbaru meteorological, climatology and geophysics agency (BMKG), stated in Pekanbaru on Tuesday.
Sulianto noted that he did not know where the hotspots came from, but he was sure that the hotspots did not have anything to do with the eruption of Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra.
In Siak district, Riau province, the authorities decided to shut around 210 schools for two days (Feb 11-12) due to the haze coming from forest and plantation fires.
"A total of 210 schools are being kept closed because the haze is getting thicker and may cause harm to children," Head of the Siak education office Kadri Yafis stated on Tuesday.
The schools, consisting of elementary, junior and senior high schools, are located across 13 sub-districts in Siak district.
Flights Postponed As Haze Shrouds Visibility In Riau
