REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PEKANBARU –- Authority of Sultan Syarif Kasim II International Airport Pekanbaru said there were 10 domestic and international flights that were forced to delay the process of landing at local airport due to limited visibility of the pilot.

"There have been 10 airlines delayed the process of aircraft landing, both arrival or departure domestic and international flights," said Airport Duty Manager Sultan Syarif Kasim II, Toni Hendrik, Wednesday (2/9).

The authority suggested some airlines to delay the process of landing and taking off, because the pilot visibility in local airport was only 500 meters. The limited visibility was due to thick smoke of forest fires in Sumatera, which was dangerous for safely of commercial flights

“Flight schedule to and from Riau was in a mess and left hundreds of people stranded at the airport,” he explained.

Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) Pekanbaru stated, four cities in Riau were shrouded in thick haze with visibility ranging from 400 meters to 800 meters.

"Palalawan was the region with the worst visibility to 400 meters,  then Pekanbaru to 500 meters, Dumai to 700 meters and Rengat to 800 meters," said Head of BMKG Pekanbaru, Sugarin.

He explained that based on Terra and Aqua satellite imagery, on Wednesday at 07.00 pm, there were 134 hotspots in 11 cities in Riau. From 134 hotspots, 98 of them have been confirmed as hotspots with a confidence level above 70 percent.

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