Haze Spreads to Java and Halts Flights from Bandung

The National Disaster Management Body (BNPB) has explained that the haze disaster that has seriously affected many parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan, disrupting transportation and causing health problems, has started to spread to Java.

"Based on the results of monitoring by Himawari Satellite, the thin haze has started to cover the air above the Java Sea and is heading to Jakarta," said head of BNPB's information data centre Sutopo Purwo Nugroho on Saturday as reported by tempo.co.

In Bandung, airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II had to delay flights from Husein Sastranegara airport due to declining visibility to 3,000 meters from the safe condition of 3,900 m.

PT Angkasa Pura II spokesman Mabruri said that the airport authority had to delay five flights from Husein Sastranegara airport until 11 a.m., while six planes that were scheduled to land in the airport were redirected to Soekarmo-Hatta Airport in Tengerang, Banten.

"There was another plane that had to fly around in the air while waiting to land," Mabruri said as reported by tribunnews.com on Saturday, adding that the delay had caused hundreds of passengers to crowd the airport, waiting for their flights.

Sutopo said the haze had even been spreading to neighbouring countries, making the air quality in the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore worse.

He said that his institution helped by a number of countries, including Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and Russia, had been working to extinguish the fire that has been razing forests in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

Meanwhile, the Jakarta sky also looked darker on Saturday morning. Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) officer Tomi Ilham Reza confirmed that the visibility in the Jakarta declined on Saturday morning. He did not, however, explain in detail about the visibility.

"We are monitoring haze movements because of air pollution," Tomi said, adding that dust particles were moving from Banten to Jakarta. He could not, however, confirm that the air pollution was caused by forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

"In Banten, the visibility was 5 kilometres, while in Jakarta, the impact was is not so significant," he added.