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Forest-Fire Haze Disrupts 2,458 Domestic Flights

Stateline MEDIA Newsroom•October 18, 2026•2 min read

Indonesia's Transportation Ministry (Kemenhub) recorded 2,458 scheduled domestic flights disrupted by forest and land fires (karhutla) between August 11 and October 17, 2026. The figure is up 437 flights from the October 13 data. Of the total, 1,324 flights were cancelled or postponed and 1,080 were delayed; the disruption has now spread to Sulawesi, Maluku, and North Maluku.

Key Facts

Indonesia's Transportation Ministry recorded 2,458 scheduled domestic flights disrupted by forest and land fires (karhutla) between August 11 and October 17, 2026 — up 437 flights from 2,021 on October 13, 2026.
The breakdown: 1,080 flights delayed, 1,324 cancelled or postponed, 22 diverted to other airports, six returned to their departure airport, and 26 had their schedules moved forward.
The disruption spread to Sulawesi, Maluku, and North Maluku during October 13–17, 2026; a total of 29 airports were affected. International flights (14 cancelled) and pioneer flights (22 cancelled) were also hit.

The Ministry's Latest Data

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation at Indonesia's Transportation Ministry (Kemenhub) released the latest data on the impact of forest and land fires (karhutla) on flight operations on Sunday (10/18/2026). Based on data as of October 17, 2026, a total of 2,458 scheduled domestic flights were disrupted by karhutla since August 11, 2026.

"This figure is up 437 flights from the position on October 13, 2026, which recorded 2,021 flights," said the ministry's Director General of Civil Aviation, Lukman F. Laisa, in an official statement.

Of the total, 1,080 flights were delayed, 1,324 were cancelled or postponed, 22 were diverted to other airports, six returned to their departure airport, and 26 had their schedules moved forward.

Disruption Spreads to Sulawesi and Maluku

During October 13–17, 2026, the haze disruption spread to Sulawesi, Maluku, and North Maluku, in addition to Kalimantan, Papua, and Sumatra, which had been affected earlier. In total, karhutla haze affected 29 airports.

In Central Sulawesi, disruptions were recorded at Mutiara SIS Al-Jufrie Airport in Palu, Maleo in Morowali, Syukuran Aminuddin Amir in Luwuk, and Sultan Bantilan in Tolitoli. In North Maluku, Sultan Babullah Airport in Ternate and Oesman Sadik in Labuha were affected.

International and Pioneer Flights Also Cancelled

The disruption also reached international flights: 14 flights were cancelled, consisting of 12 Singapore–Pontianak round-trip flights between September 12–23, 2026, and two Singapore–Palembang round-trip flights on October 15, 2026.

In addition, 22 pioneer flights were cancelled due to the haze on October 16, 2026, including two cargo flights. The ministry advised passengers to check flight information through their respective airlines before heading to the airport.