The flight of a Pelita Air plane chartered by PT Chevron Pacific Indonesia (CPI) and serving Dumai-Jakarta route was put off for one hour, Head of the Pinang Kampai Airport Irvan said here Monday.
"The chartered plane was supposed to come in at 7.30 am WIB (Western Indonesian Standard Time). However, because visibility was below 1,000 meters, it was ordered to postpone its arrival until 8.30 am WIB," he said.
At 8.30 am WIB, visibility improved to above 2,000 meters which was fit for flights. The wind which blew at over five kilometers per hour helped to disperse the haze.
On Sunday (July 3), Pinang Kampai airport was also covered by thick haze forcing delays in several flights.
The US National Oceanic Atmospheric Agency (NOAA)`s Satellite 18 had detected seven hotspots in Riau, according to Riau`s meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency (BMKG).
"There are seven hotspots in Sumatra, and all of them are in Riau, namely five in Rokan Hilir District, and two in Bengkalis, Sanya Gautami, a Riau BMKG analyst, said here Saturday.
The number of hotspots had dropped significantly from a few days ago when 36 - 56 hotspots were detected in Sumatra, mostly in Riau island, he said.
The hotspots were previously not detected due to clouds over Riau.
"At the time, none of the hotspots was detected in Riau. But, starting Friday (July 1), hotspots were seen again," she said.
Until the next two days, most of Riau areas hardly has rains. "However, in several places there will be possibilities to local rains with low intensity," she said.
(Uu.F001/AHAJM)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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