‘Affected sectors to issue warning if visibility worsens’

KUALA LUMPUR: The aviation and maritime sectors are on high alert as the haze situation continues to worsen.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said he had directed the Marine Department and Civil Aviation Department to issue warnings in view of the reduced visibility in some major cities and towns.

He said so far, two commercial airlines had been diverted from their landing destinations due to the haze.

Yesterday morning, an AirAsia flight from Bangkok, Thailand, to here was rerouted to Phuket before entering the Malaysian air space.

On Saturday, a Tiger Airways plane from Singapore to Ipoh was forced to land at KL International Airport as the visibility at Sultan Azlan Shah Airport in Ipoh had dropped to less than 900m.

“Maritime activities involving small vessels will be stopped if the visibility drops below one nautical mile,” said Liow, who is also MCA president, at a press conference after opening the Selangor MCA annual general meeting yesterday.

As for aviation services, he added that landing of the aircraft could be dangerous if the visibility was further reduced to 600m.