[Kabar-indonesia] 2 Haze updates: Airport Landing Review Urged [+Sumatra, Kalimantan]

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

also: Haze still bad on Sumatra, Kalimantan islands 

Indonesia urges airport landing review due to haze

JAKARTA, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Indonesia on Wednesday urged airports in areas 
shrouded by thick smoke from forest fires to close if conditions made landings' 
hazardous, after a jet with more than 100 on board skidded off a runway in 
Borneo. 

The passenger jet operated by Mandala Airlines skidded off the runway upon 
landing amid thick haze in Indonesia's East Kalimantan province on Tuesday as 
fires spread choking haze to neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia. 

"We recommend that authorities determine minimal visibility standards in 
airports. If visibility is below the standards, an airport should be closed 
temporarily," said Setyo Raharjo, the chairman of the National Commission for 
Transport Safety. 

The current regulations allowed a pilot to decide whether it was safe enough 
to land, he told Reuters. 

Raharjo said haze had contributed to the mishap involving one of Mandala's 
Boeing 737-200 aircraft. No one was hurt after the jetliner skidded 50 metres 
(164 ft) off the runway in Tarakan. 

An air traffic controller at Cilik Riwut airport in Central Kalimantan said 
there had been some landing delays on Wednesday.        
 
"In the morning it is usually dark (with visibility) around 400 metres 
(yards). It usually lasts until 2 pm (0700 GMT) when visibility rises to between 800 
metres to 1 km," said Zamroni who, like many Indonesians, is known by one 
name. 

The haze, caused mostly by farmers and plantation owners setting fires to 
clear land, has forced many flights to be delayed or cancelled in Indonesia in 
recent days. 

MALAYSIA, SINGAPORE SHROUDED THIS WEEK 

South-southwesterly winds have blown smoke from fires in central and south 
Sumatra to Singapore and Malaysia, obscuring sunlight and reducing temperatures 
and visibility. 

The haze appeared to worsen in Malaysia on Wednesday, with pollution levels 
rising to unhealthy levels in more areas. 

The Borneo state of Sarawak next to Kalimantan remained the worst-affected 
area and has been blanketed by smog for weeks. 

"Today is the worst so far," one resident in the Sarawak state capital 
Kuching said by telephone. "Schools remain open but many people are already wearing 
face masks." 

At the daily 0300 GMT reading, the air-pollution index (API) showed 
"unhealthy" levels in most areas in Sarawak. 

Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur was also covered by haze with the API level 
rising to just below the "unhealthy" mark. 

Visibility at the capital's main airport fell to 3,000-4,000 metres from the 
usual 10,000 metres, an airport official said. 

Singapore's Pollutants Standards Index (PSI) hit the highest level this year 
on Monday, although fell back a day later. 

Masud, an Indonesian forestry ministry spokesman, said most fires were in 
plantations and criticised local governments for not doing enough to stamp out 
land-clearing by burning. 

"Local governments only make noise after fires have become big and caused 
haze problems," he said. 

He said water bombs had been dropped from aircraft and hundreds of 
firefighters mobilised to extinguish the blazes. 

Environment ministry spokesman Hermono Sigit said about 600 hotspots were 
identified this week in Sumatra and Borneo. 

The worst smog in the region hit in 1997-98, when drought caused by the El 
Nino weather phenomenon led to major Indonesian fires. The smoke spread to 
Singapore, Malaysia and south Thailand and cost $9 billion in damage to tourism, 
transport and farming. 

(Additional reporting by Sarah Webb in SINGAPORE, Jalil Hamid 
in Kuala Lumpur and Diyan Jari in JAKARTA) 
     
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Haze still bad on Sumatra, Kalimantan islands 

JAMBI, Jambi province, Oct. 4 (Antara): Have in Sumatra and Kalimantan were 
still bad Wednesday because firefighters failed to extinguish fires occurred in 
large parts of forests on the two islands.

Because of a short vision -- less than 300 --, a motorist crashed against 
buffaloes in Sungai Abang village, Jambi province, according to Antara news 
agency Wednesday.

In Riau, a satellite could monitor 570 hotspots across the province satellite.

Meanwhile, air quality deteriorated in two Malaysian states on Borneo or 
Kalimantan. Officials blamed on the worsening forest fires in the Indonesian 
provinces.

Unhealthy air quality was reported in eight districts of Sarawak state and 
one town in neighboring Sabah state, the Department of Environment said on its 
Web site.

The Malaysian Meteorological Department said visibility Wednesday morning was 
between 0.6 to 3 kilometers (less than 0.5 mile to 2 miles) in Sabah and 
Sarawak, a drastic drop from the normal visibility of more than 10 kilometers (6 
miles).

Data from 13 of its 40 measuring stations in other parts of the country 
showed the visibility was below 5 kilometers (3 miles).

A spokeswoman at the Sarawak General Hospital in Kuching, the capital of 
Sarawak, declined to say whether respiratory complaints have gone up with the 
deteriorating air quality. There was also no immediate word on whether flights 
have been affectedby the low visibility.

An officer at the Meteorological Department said the smoky skies over Kuching 
and nearby towns of Samarahan and Sri Aman were due to fires in neighboring 
Indonesia's Kalimantan province, which borders Sarawak.

"There were more than 424 hot spots in satellite images over Kalimantan," he 
said. "There are a few, very few, fire spots in Sarawak, but the bulk of the 
fires are in Kalimantan, near Sarawak."

In Central Kalimantan, thick haze caused the cancellation of several local 
flights Tuesday. The haze also disrupted the effort of fire fighters to 
extinguished forest fires. 

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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