Pekanbaru airport operates normally despite haze

Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA) - Pekanbaru’s Sultan Syarif Kasim II International Airport continued operating normally on Friday despite haze from forest and land fires, with visibility at 2,000 meters, its manager said.

General Manager Achmad said visibility remained at 2,000 meters, allowing flight operations to continue safely and normally.

“As of 9 a.m. local time, seven flights had departed and two had landed smoothly,” Achmad said in Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau Province, on Friday.

The airport is monitoring weather conditions regularly with Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) to help ensure passenger safety and comfort.

Earlier in the week, haze disrupted flights at the airport. On Wednesday, October 7, two aircraft bound for Pekanbaru were unable to land.

Lion Air flight JT292 returned to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, while Citilink QG936 diverted to Hang Nadim Airport in Batam after visibility fell to about 600 meters.

Despite the disruption, other flights continued operating. Pelita Air flight IP320 from Jakarta landed at Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport at 8:40 a.m. on Wednesday.

On Thursday, October 8, three aircraft bound for Pekanbaru circled for an extended period before landing.

The flights were Citilink QG936 and Lion Air JT292 from Jakarta, and Malaysia Airlines MH841 from Kuala Lumpur. All three eventually landed.

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Translator: Bayu AA, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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