Indonesian airport reopens after haze disappears

Indonesian airport reopens after hazedisappears

26 October 2006

published by http://english.people.com.cn/

An Indonesian airport on Sumatra island reopened Thursday after being closed for more than two weeks due to thick haze from forest fires that disturbed visibility.

The Sultan Thaha Airport in Jambi province began its normal operations after two days of torrential rains effectively extinguished forest fires, which also sent haze and caused serious air pollution in neighboring Singapore and Malaysia.

Airport head Basuki said visibility range has surpassed the normal level of 2,000 meters.

“The visibility range is already above the level needed by pilots to land their planes,” he was quoted by the national Antara news agency as saying.

Two local airliners Sriwijaya Air and Lion Airline have said they would reopen routes to Jambi after the haze problem is solved.