The haze may have only barely reached the capital, but one way the smog crisis did affect many of us in Jakarta was through flight delays and cancellations.
Garuda Indonesia definitely felt the economic brunt of the haze. The airline reported that they lost out on US$ 8 million over the past couple of months because of the haze problem in Sumatra and Kalimantan.
“In September and October we lost the opportunity to gain around US$ 8 million because more than 120 passengers cancelled their flights,” said Arif Wibowo, first director of Garuda Indonesia, as quoted by Metro TV yesterday.
Arif explained that Garuda had to temporarily decrease the number of flight routes going into and out of Sumatra and Kalimantan over the past couple of months.
And, to make up for the potential loss, the airline had to maximize their services on flight routes that weren’t affected by the haze.
“Hopefully all the recent rainfall can put an end [to the haze crisis],” Arif said.
