Pekanbaru, Riau, (Antarariau.com) -- Wildfires raging in Riau and its neighboring provinces on Sumatra Island have affected flights at Pekanbaru Airport, having caused a drastic drop in visibility.
According to authorities of Sultan Syarif Kasim II International Airport, visibility dropped to below one kilometer.
On Thursday morning, it was only 800 meters, whereas the safe limit stipulated in existing regulations is at least one kilometer, Hasturman Yunus, a spokesman for the airport authorities, said here on Thursday.
As a result of the haze produced by the fires, a Citilink plane from Jakarta had to fly around for 30 additional minutes before finally being able to land in Pekanbaru when the air was relatively haze-free.
In July alone, five flights were affected by the haze. They were forced to either land in the neighboring Batam provinces airport or faced delays in landing.
Early on Thursday, the Terra and Aqua satellites detected as many as 326 hotspots across Sumatra Island, including 186 in Riau.
In Riau, the hotspots were found in Pelalawan (60), Inhu (54), Inhil (45), Siak (11), Dumai (6), Bengkalis (5), Kampar (3), and Kuansing (2), Head of the Pekanbaru Meteorology Station Sugarin said.
While South Sumatra province has 42 hotspots, Jambi has 51, Lampung has eight, Bengkulu six, North Sumatra three, and West Sumatra two.
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