REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BATAM -- The visibility at Hang Nadim International Airport in Batam, Riau Islands, and the surrounding areas was recorded at 2.2 thousand meters on Friday afternoon.
"The flights can still be served. But, the flights from Batam to Jambi and Pekanbaru cannot be operated," general affairs manager at the Hang Nadim International Airport Suwarso stated here on Friday.
According to Suwarso, the flights from Batam to Jambi and Pekanbaru could not be served due to thick haze causing reduced visibility in the two regions.
"We continue to monitor and coordinate with the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG). So far, the flights from other cities to Batam are safe," he noted.
The Hang Nadim Airport, with a 4.025-kilometer-long runway, is equipped with advanced technology, adequate facilities, and a spacious waiting area. Therefore, aircraft can land even in limited visibility conditions.
However, the visibility at the Hang Nadim Airport had declined to 1.5 thousand meters, thereby forcing several pilots to divert their flights to another airport.
"It is the pilot's decision to land the aircraft. The airport authority merely informs about the conditions," he pointed out.
Since the last few months, low visibility caused by the haze in Indonesia's Riau province has led to delays in flights at Batam's Hang Nadim International Airport.
As a result, the number of passengers from Batam to Sumatra Island has decreased significantly.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) had earlier recorded a total of 2,742 hotspots of forest, peatland, and plantation fires across Indonesia on Thursday.
Of the total hotspots, Papua had 744, South Sumatra 703, Central Kalimantan 462, West Kalimantan 290, and East Kalimantan 153, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the spokesman of the BNPB, said here on Thursday.
"Thick haze is still shrouding Sumatra, Kalimantan, and parts of Papua," he noted.
The haze has also reduced visibility in the affected regions.
"This morning, the visibility was 1.2 thousand meters in Padang, 50 meters in Pekanbaru, 700 meters in Jambi, one thousand meters in Palembang, 400 meters in Pontianak, 300 meters in Ketapang, and 100 meters in Palangkaraya," he added.
The pollutant standard index in Riau, Jambi, West Kalimantan, and Central Kalimantan has reached a hazardous level. In Palembang, South Sumatra, the index reached a very unhealthy level, while in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, it was at an unhealthy level.
The fact that inhabitants of the haze-hit regions have been exposed to dangerous smoke is a matter of grave concern.
The BNPB has been working hard to put out the fires through land and aerial operations by conducting water bombing and inducing artificial rains.
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