Indonesia haze reaches Philippines

Manila, Oct. 23: Haze from Indonesian forest fires has spread to the southern and central Philippines, disrupting air traffic and prompting warnings for residents to wear face masks, authorities said Friday.

The large southern Philippine island of Mindanao is more than 1,200 kilometres ( 745 miles) from the nearest fires but the haze has become a worsening problem across the island over the past week, aviation authorities said.

It spread to the country’s central islands of Cebu and Negros on Friday, disrupting air traffic, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines spokesman Eric Apolonio said.

Eight domestic flights have been cancelled and dozens delayed since the problem began on October 16, affecting thousands of passengers, he added.

On some occasions, pilots could not see the airstrip as they were coming in to land.

“If you cannot see the runway it is very dangerous. You cannot always depend on instruments,” he said.

Dense haze hung over Davao, Mindanao’s largest city of 1.5 million people, on Friday afternoon, plunging it under an early twilight. Its airport, one of those affected according to Apolonio, handles 48 flights a day.

Aircraft are forced to circle and wait above the runways for up to an hour, according to Apolonio.

— AFP Thai women wear face masks as they ride on a motorcycle through the haze covering the southern city of Narathiwat on Friday.