Garuda Plane Fails to Land in Jambi

Jambi (Antara) - A Garuda Indonesia flight from Jakarta failed to land at Sultan Taha airport in Jambi on Wednesday because of weather disruption, according to official. Sultan Taha Airport Operation Manger Alzog P Budhi stated that the visibility of less than one kilometer forced the Garuda plane to land in Palembang instead of Jambi. "On Wednesday morning, Sultan Taha airport was blanketed by thick haze, which forced the Garuda plane to divert to Sultan Mahmud Badarudin II airport in Palembang, South Sumatra," Alzog explained. Haze also disturbed the schedules of two flights from Jakarta to Pekanbaru in Riau province on Sunday evening. The two flights were diverted to Hang Nadim Airport in Batam as haze shrouded Sultan Syarif Kasim II Airport in the Riau provincial capital. "Garuda flight number GA-178 landed (at Hang Nadim Airport) at 6.08 p.m., and Lion Air flight number JT-294 at 6.10 p.m.," director of integrated one-stop services and public relations of the Batam Management Board (BP Batam) Dwi Djoko Wiwoho stated in Batam on Sunday. He pointed out that Garuda was a Boeing 737-800NG and the Lion Air plane was a Boeing 737-900ER. A total of 28 flights at Kualanamu Airport in North Sumatra were also delayed on Sunday due to thick smog covering the airport. (*)