REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BATAM -- The haze from forest and bush fires disrupted numerous flights from several cities in Sumatra Island such as Palembang, Pekanbaru, Padang, and Medan to Batam Island, Tuesday morning, the Hang Nadim International Airport authority revealed.

Among the commercial flights delayed as a result of the reduced visibility were Citilink's QG-930 and Lion Air's JT-957, JT-3238, and JT-827, Head of the Hang Nadim International Airport's Public Affairs Division, Suwarso, stated here Tuesday.

"A Wings Air flight bound for Tanjungkarang in Lampung Province is also delayed," he noted, adding that the thick smog, which had caused low visibility, had also disrupted two flights from Jambi Province to Batam Island in Riau Islands Province on Monday.

The flights were Lion Air's JT-139 and Nam Air's IN 9886, he remarked.

The reduced visibility, which has delayed flights at several prime airports in Sumatra Island, including Batam, Singapore's closest neighbor, is due to the impact of forest and bush fires in provinces such as South Sumatra and Jambi.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has even pledged to deploy an MI-171 helicopter for conducting a water bombing mission in Jambi on Tuesday due to an increase in the number of forest and bush fires in the province.

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