Malaysia’s Firefly cancels flights to Singapore over haze from Indonesia — SkimNews
Get the Energy newsletter
Daily energy & climate — solar, EVs, oil, the policy fights and tech bets shaping the transition. Free.
- Firefly extended its suspension of flights between Kuala Lumpur's Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport and Singapore's Seletar Airport through Wednesday, citing 'weather and haze conditions' as a 'proactive safety measure' after first announcing cancellations on October 10.
- IQAir ranked Singapore (AQI 199) and Kuala Lumpur (AQI 183) as the world's two most polluted cities on Tuesday, with readings above 150 classified as unhealthy.
- The Indonesian fires on Sumatra and Borneo are the country's most intense in 11 years, spurred by an El Niño pattern expected to rank among the strongest in four decades.
- Singapore has reintroduced subsidised care for haze-related illnesses — a measure it last deployed in 2015 — while Malaysian schools reopened in most states but remain closed in three states, one federal territory, and several districts.
- Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said he will press ASEAN next month to add haze to the bloc's regional disaster mechanism, where it currently is not classified as a natural disaster; the Philippines confirmed the issue is on the November agenda.
- Indonesia has deployed roughly 60,000 personnel to fight the fires, but thick smoke has grounded 34 aircraft and cloud seeding is not viable without suitable rain clouds, Mohamad said.
Why it matters: Indonesia's worst fires in 11 years have now grounded Firefly's KL–Singapore route and pushed both capitals' AQI past 180, forcing Singapore to revive 2015-era illness subsidies. The crisis lands on ASEAN's November agenda, where Malaysia will push to add haze to the bloc's disaster mechanism for the first time — a gap that has gone unfixed through every prior burning season.
Ask SkimNews
