Smog and Ramadan: A hinderance to air travel in Indonesia

Smog levels in parts of Kalimantan and Sumatra, are so bad at the moment, that 5 airports are closed. Visibility is down to 50-100 meters in places, making landings impossible. Another factor greatly affecting Indonesian air travel right now is Ramadan.

The closed airports include Sultan Thaha Airport in Jambi, Jambi; Supadio Airport in Pontianak, West Kalimantan; and H Asan Airport in Sampit, East Kalimantan. The closure of airports around the country had created a backlog of flights. This aggrovates an already frustrating air travel scene. The end of Ramadan, sees the start of Idul Fitri, the week long celebration. A great number of Muslim people all over Indonesia, go home for that week. This means buses, trains, cars and planes are fully booked, even though prices are doubled for the duration. That extends to international flights too. Getting an air ticket to Singapore yesterday, I was confronted by full flight schedules and raised prices. All options, Jakarta-Sing, KL and Batam-boat-Sing, were booked for the days I wanted and all expensive.

No point in dwelling on it, I just wanted to give a heads-up to travelers planning to travel by air in and around Indonesia, for the next 10 days.