Indonesia province closes schools, airport owing to forest fire

"This morning, the governor ordered schools to close because of the poor air quality, which is endangering our health," Central Kalimantan province spokesman Kardinal Tarung said on Tuesday.

    School opening hours in the Palangkaraya area have been pushed back since mid-August because the haze is at its worst in the morning.

    Central Kalimantan's main airport, Tjilik Riwut in Palangkaraya, was also forced to shut down on Tuesday because of low visibility.

    "Haze has reduced visibility on the runway, rendering flights impossible," said airport chief Jamaluddin Hasibuan.

    Hasibuan said the airport had stopped issuing flight permits and declared the airport closed after visibility remained at 400 meters -- falling as low as 50 meters in the morning -- far below the minimum aviation standard of 1,600 meters.

    The closure led to the cancellation of 14 domestic and regional flights, leaving hundreds of outbound passengers stranded.

    Most fires have so far been blamed on land clearing, both by small-scale farmers and plantation companies, to ready the land for the new planting season, Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.chinaview.cn for full version.