Thick smoke disrupts flights, sea travel in Batam

Fadli, The Jakarta Post, Batam | Archipelago | Mon, June 17 2013, 10:46 PM

Thick clouds of smoke caused by the increasing number of fires in several areas in Sumatra have disrupted air and sea activities in Batam.

Transportation authorities in Batam have warned crews that visibility is limited due to smoke clouds.

Head of the Batam branch of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Phillip Mustamu, told The Jakarta Post that 138 hot spots were currently being monitored in Jambi, Riau and South Sumatra, significantly up from less than 100 spots last week.

“It is believed that the hot spots in the three provinces are caused by fires, which have created smoke clouds. During the last several days, the smoke clouds from Sumatra have reached Batam,” said Phillip.

He said that visibility at Hang Nadim Airport, Batam, had declined to 1,500 meters from 10,000 meters due to the smoke that was covering the city. At 7 a.m, the visibility was only around 1,000 meters.

Nevertheless, Phillip said the closing of the airport had not yet been recommended. “We’ve asked the control tower to remind pilots to be extra alert during landing,” he said.

Meanwhile, Irwansyah of the flight safety group at Hang Nadim said visibility of 1,500 meters was still quite safe for both take-off and landing activities.

“The airport authority is ready to issue a warning if the visibility declines to 1,000 meters,” said Irwansyah, adding that the visibility was not a determining component in the airport as it was equipped with Landing System Instruments (ILS). (ebf)

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