Thousands of passengers affected as 25 flights were cancelled and 15 delayed at KIA due to poor visibility
It was a hectic situation at the AirAsia counters at KIA yesterday as many anxious passengers try to secure seats on the next available flights to their destinations.
KUCHING: More than 1,700 passengers were stranded at Kuching International Airport (KIA) yesterday when thick haze and poor visibility forced the airport to cease all flight operations for about two hours.
The runway was closed from 7am to 9.10 am after visibility fell to 300 metres (m). Twenty-five flights had to be cancelled, affecting 2,931 passengers.
This was the first time in the last five years that airport authorities had to close KIA’s runway due to poor visibility.
KIA senior manager Mohd Nadzim Hashim said 22 AirAsia and three MASwings flights, involving 14 departures and 11 arrivals, were affected. The number of passengers scheduled to land here was 1,208, while those supposed to depart KIA totalled 1,723.
At 11 am, three Malaysia Airlines Bhd flights managed to depart KIA for Sibu, Kuala Lumpur and Miri after visibility improved to 2,000m. AirAsia managed, on the other hand, to reinstate its 11.55am flight to Kuala Lumpur, which was retimed to 4.15pm. The flight carried 184 passengers.
“Due to thick haze, our runway was closed from 0700 hours and reopened for flight operations at 0910 hours. The Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) and airport authority are authorised to close the runway if visibility falls below 500 metres,” said Mohd Nadzim, when contacted yesterday.
As at 6pm, Mohd Nadzim said 15 flights were delayed (seven arrivals, eight departures), affecting 1,039 passengers (254 passenger arrivals, 785 departures).
According to yesterday’s flight schedule, there would be 124 flights arriving and departing at KIA. He advised passengers who used KIA to check their flying schedules with the respective airlines before coming to the airport.
State National Security Council (NSC) secretary Shalihin Annuar, when contacted, said the Meteorological Department and the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) were waiting for orders to conduct cloud seeding operations.
Passengers loiter at KIA while waiting for their flights. — Photo by Tan Song Wei
Air Asia had 22 flights cancelled yesterday due to the closure of KIA’s runway in the morning. However, a flight bound for Kuala Lumpur was able to be reinstated. — Photo by Tan Song Wei
Visibility was poor at the Kuching golden triangle area as the city recorded an air pollutant index (API) exceeding 100 yesterday. — Photo by Chimon Upon
During its operation here from Sept 15 to 24, seven sorties were carried out.
Meanwhile, the Education Ministry has directed all schools in the country to be opened today, considering the improved Air Pollutant Index (API) reading in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Tanjung Malim in Perak, and a few divisions here.
However, the ministry advised all concerned parties to take the appropriate action if the API readings at their respective areas exceeded 200.
Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid reportedly said on Sunday that beginning yesterday, school managements and district education offices had the authority to decide on school closure if visibility dropped to less than 500m.
Previously, schools in areas affected by haze could only be closed if the API reading exceeded 200.
Yesterday, a total of 588 schools in Kuching, Samarahan, Sri Aman and Betong Divisions were ordered to close due to the worsening haze condition. A total of 122,303 primary school pupils and 93,066 secondary students were affected by the closure.
The air quality in the city remained at an unhealthy level of between 114 and 116 yesterday. The highest API reading was 117, recorded between 8am and 9 am.
Samarahan also recorded an unhealthy air quality, but the situation improved from 132 at 6am to 117 at 5pm.
Apart from Kapit, which had an API reading of below 50 throughout the day, the rest of the state recorded moderate air quality. API rating at Sri Aman slightly improved from 99 in the morning to 93 as of 5pm.
The API rating is categorised as Good for readings of between 0-50, Moderate (51-100), Unhealthy (101-200), Very Unhealthy (201-300), and Hazardous (above 300).