Antara News·Indonesia·Saturday, October 17, 2026 at 05:43 PM UTC

Indonesian govt monitors haze risk to flights at 16 Papua airports

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Muhammad Harianto, Resinta Sulistiyandari

Indonesia's Transportation Ministry is monitoring the impact of forest and land fires on 16 airports in Papua, where haze could threaten flight safety, a ministry official said on Saturday.

Director General of Civil Aviation Lukman F. Laisa said Airport Authority Offices in Regions I to X were coordinating with airport operators, AirNav Indonesia, airlines, the weather agency BMKG and other agencies.

"This coordination aims to monitor developments in each region and ensure that flight safety and security remain a priority," he noted.

The affected airports are Sentani in Papua Province; Mozes Kilangin (Timika), Ilaga and Ilu in Central Papua; and Wamena, Oksibil and Dekai in Papua Highland Province, he said.
Others are Mopah (Merauke), Tanah Merah, Kepi, Ewer, Bade, Senggo, Manggelum, Yaniruma and Mindiptanah in South Papua Province.

Lukman said reduced visibility from haze around airports could cause flight delays or cancellations.

He said all flight operation decisions prioritize safety.

Forest and land fires have affected 2,021 scheduled domestic flights since August 11, according to data as of October 13.

Of those, 919 were delayed, 1,067 were canceled or postponed, 18 were diverted, six returned to base and 11 were moved forward.

International flights were also hit. Twelve round-trip Singapore-Pontianak flights were canceled from September 12 to 23 because of haze at Pontianak's Supadio Airport.

Separately, 18 domestic flights were canceled in the same period for other reasons, including volcanic ash from Mount Lewotolok and Mount Dukono, bad weather, strong winds and aircraft maintenance.

The government continues water bombing operations to fight the fires.

From April 20 to October 12, the operations logged 5,035 flight cycles involving 38 aircraft from 11 operators across fire-prone areas.

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