ID :
79321
Thu, 09/10/2009 - 13:23
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https://oananews.org//node/79321
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PONTIANAK`S AIRPORT CLOSED ONE HOUR DUE TO HAZE
Pontianak, Indonesia, Sept. 10 (ANTARA) - With visibility reduced to only 400 meters by haze, Pontianak's Supadio airport was closed from 6 am to 7 am local time on Thursday.
"Earlier today, we had to close the airport for one hour because visibility in the morning was jut 400 meters, while normal visibility is around 800 meters," Syarif Usmulyani, head of the local chapter of PT Angkasa Pura (AP) II's traffic service, said here on Thursday.
He regretted that the local authorities did not immediately anticipate the emergence of haze coming from forest fires in Palangkaraya (Central Kalimantan) and Ketapang District.
However, he considered today's condition was better than the previous day when visibility was just 300-400 meters, forcing the airport's closure for several hours.
Last Tuesday (Sept. 8), Tjilik Riwut airport of Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, was closed to all flights due to thick haze blanketing the runway, Head of the airport Jamaluddin Hasibuan said.
"Visibility at the runway reached only about 400 meters which is considerably lower than the minimum of 1,600 meters. The runway cannot be used at all," Hasibuan said in Palangkaraya.
He said that due to the thick haze, his side had closed the airport and banned all planes from landing or taking off. The airport will be reopened on Wednesday if the haze had dissipated.
As a result of the closure, five airlines canceled 14 of their flights at the airport on Tuesday. The canceled regular flights were those of Batavia Air on the Jakarta-Palangkaraya-Jakarta route and the Surabaya-Palangkaraya-Surabaya route, of Sriwijaya on the Jakarta-Palangkaraya-Jakarta route, and Garuda on the Jakarta-Palangkaraya-Jakarta route.
Akhmat Sajarwan, a land expert of Palangkaraya University said recently the haze problem which occurs annually in Central Kalimantan indicated that the government is not serious enough in handling the man-made disaster
The government should have conducted preventive measures rather than dealing with the haze problem when it occurred, he said.
***
"Earlier today, we had to close the airport for one hour because visibility in the morning was jut 400 meters, while normal visibility is around 800 meters," Syarif Usmulyani, head of the local chapter of PT Angkasa Pura (AP) II's traffic service, said here on Thursday.
He regretted that the local authorities did not immediately anticipate the emergence of haze coming from forest fires in Palangkaraya (Central Kalimantan) and Ketapang District.
However, he considered today's condition was better than the previous day when visibility was just 300-400 meters, forcing the airport's closure for several hours.
Last Tuesday (Sept. 8), Tjilik Riwut airport of Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, was closed to all flights due to thick haze blanketing the runway, Head of the airport Jamaluddin Hasibuan said.
"Visibility at the runway reached only about 400 meters which is considerably lower than the minimum of 1,600 meters. The runway cannot be used at all," Hasibuan said in Palangkaraya.
He said that due to the thick haze, his side had closed the airport and banned all planes from landing or taking off. The airport will be reopened on Wednesday if the haze had dissipated.
As a result of the closure, five airlines canceled 14 of their flights at the airport on Tuesday. The canceled regular flights were those of Batavia Air on the Jakarta-Palangkaraya-Jakarta route and the Surabaya-Palangkaraya-Surabaya route, of Sriwijaya on the Jakarta-Palangkaraya-Jakarta route, and Garuda on the Jakarta-Palangkaraya-Jakarta route.
Akhmat Sajarwan, a land expert of Palangkaraya University said recently the haze problem which occurs annually in Central Kalimantan indicated that the government is not serious enough in handling the man-made disaster
The government should have conducted preventive measures rather than dealing with the haze problem when it occurred, he said.
***
