Antara News·Indonesia·Tuesday, October 20, 2026 at 04:37 AM UTC

Ministry tightens flight control amid smoke haze impact

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Harianto, Kenzu

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's Ministry of Transportation has tightened flight control in response to smoke haze from forest and land fires, implementing operational monitoring and mitigation measures to maintain flight safety and security.

"We continue to strengthen operational flight monitoring and control following the impact of forest fires that caused flight disruptions in several parts of Indonesia," Director General of Air Transportation at the ministry, Lukman F. Laisa, said here on Tuesday.

Based on data as of Monday (October 19), 2,604 scheduled domestic flights were affected by forest fires since August 11, 2026.

The number was up 146 flights from data as of October 17, 2026, which stood at 2,458 flights. Flight safety and security remain the top priority, Laisa stressed.

Every operational decision must consider weather conditions, visibility, and the results of safety assessments by related parties.

"Therefore, flight schedule adjustments can be made if conditions on the ground do not allow operations to proceed safely," he added.

Based on the data, the impact on domestic flights included 1,129 delayed flights and 1,420 flights canceled or postponed. Another 23 flights were diverted to other airports, six flights returned to their departure airports, and 26 flights had their schedules moved forward.

During October 13-17, the impact of smoke haze spread to several regions, including Sulawesi, Maluku, and North Maluku, in addition to Kalimantan, Papua, and Sumatra.

Affected airports included Mutiara SIS Al-Jufrie in Palu, Sultan Babullah in Ternate, Pattimura in Ambon, Mozes Kilangin in Timika, Domine Eduard Osok in Sorong, Supadio in Pontianak, Sultan Syarif Kasim II in Pekanbaru, and Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II in Palembang.

Several other airports in Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku, and Papua were also affected.

Smoke haze could reduce visibility around airports, affecting landing, takeoff, and aircraft movement. This can lead to delays, postponements, diversions, or cancellations based on safety assessment results.

Besides domestic flights, 14 international flights were canceled due to smoke haze.

A total of 12 round-trip flight of Singapore-Pontianak on September 12-23 were canceled due to smoke at Supadio Airport. Meanwhile, two round-trip flight of Singapore-Palembang on October 15 were canceled due to smoke haze at Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Airport.

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