September 2, 2026 | 10:11 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Smoke haze from forest and land fires in Kalimantan has disrupted flight operations. State-run air navigation firm AirNav Indonesia monitoring on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, until 11:57 a.m. local time, showed the most severe haze conditions in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, where visibility dropped to 600 meters.
"This condition caused all flights to experience delays," said AirNav Indonesia CEO Captain Avirianto Suratno in a statement on Wednesday evening.
Avirianto noted that the reduced visibility forced a Jakarta-Pontianak flight to return to its origin airport. "Meanwhile, flights in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, operate normally with safe visibility around 3,500 meters," Avirianto said.
On Tuesday, September 1, 2026, Avirianto stated that haze also entered North Kalimantan airspace. Consequently, visibility at Juwata Airport in Tarakan dropped to between 1,000 and 5,000 meters.
"This led to one flight being diverted to the nearest airport, while three other flights were delayed," he said.
On the same day, he added, low visibility was recorded at several pioneer airports in Kalimantan. In Malinau, visibility fell to 2,000 meters, causing one pioneer flight diversion. At Long Apung Airport, visibility ranged from 150 to 300 meters, while Tanjung Harapan Airport recorded 400 to 1,000 meters.
"However, conditions in North Kalimantan began to improve today, with visibility rising to around 3,000 to 5,000 meters," said Avirianto.
As haze from forest fires continues to spread and affect flights, AirNav Indonesia is intensifying airspace monitoring, particularly regarding visibility changes and weather conditions that could impact operational safety.
"Dynamic atmospheric conditions and visibility require continuous monitoring to ensure necessary flight safety information is available quickly and accurately," said Avirianto.
To address current haze conditions, Avirianto stated that AirNav Indonesia continues to track airspace conditions, including visibility shifts, weather developments, and meteorological reports.
"We coordinate this information with relevant stakeholders to ensure every flight receives key data to support operational decisions," said Avirianto.
Read: Celios: Indonesia's Wildfire Losses Could Reach Rp123.1 Trillion
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