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Haze disrupting flights at Penang airport; SilkAir flight diverted to Medan

PENANG — The haze which has reached worrying levels in many areas in the country has now caused flight disruptions in Penang.

Penang International Airport (PIA) senior manager Mohd Nadzim Hashim said in a statement that SilkAir flight MI 346 from Singapore to Penang was forced to divert to the Kualanamu International Airport in Medan.

Penang International Airport (PIA) senior manager Mohd Nadzim Hashim said in a statement that SilkAir flight MI 346 from Singapore to Penang was forced to divert to the Kualanamu International Airport in Medan.

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PENANG — The haze which has reached worrying levels in many areas in the country has now caused flight disruptions in Penang.

Penang International Airport (PIA) senior manager Mohd Nadzim Hashim said in a statement that SilkAir flight MI 346 from Singapore to Penang was forced to divert to the Kualanamu International Airport in Medan.

Mr Nadzim said several airlines were also unable to take off, such as a UPS Airline cargo plane that was scheduled to fly from Penang to Kuala Lumpur.

“A Lion Air flight from Medan to Penang and a FedEx cargo plane from Penang to Bangkok were also delayed.

“Visibility from the PIA control tower has dropped to 1.5km from more than 10km on a good day,” Mr Nadzim said.

He said the runway visual range for both runways at PIA is at 1,700m.

Air pollutant index (API) readings in Penang show that Balik Pular and Gelugor have breached 200 into “very unhealthy” levels as of 10am.

Penang airport was not the first to be hit by disruptions. Last Saturday, thousands of travellers were left stranded at the Sultan Azlan Shah (LTSAS) airport in Ipoh, Perak due to the thick haze, which affected 1,104 passengers.

According to airport manager Mohd Ali Osman, five flights from Scoot, AirAsia and Malindo to and from Singapore and Johor Baru were affected.

The flights were supposed to take off from the airport at 8.45am but only one managed to do so in the morning.

Meanwhile, Malaysia Airports said on Twitter that four flights were affected by the haze at the Penang International Airport on Wednesday.

They are the Lion Air flight from Medan to Penang, SilkAir flight from Singapore to Penang, and AirAsia’s flights from Kuching and Kuala Lumpur. THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT

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