Court hearing on West Kalimantan fires adjourned as flights disrupted by haze

A class‑action lawsuit over forest fires and haze in West Kalimantan was heard in Pontianak court, with President Prabowo Subianto and the provincial governor among ten defendants who did not attend the first session.

Judges postponed the hearing from 7 October to 21 October because the government failed to appear, while plaintiffs urged a national disaster declaration to enable recovery measures; the government warned the fires could persist until November, intensified by El Niño, and the haze has spread to neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore, causing respiratory illnesses.

Hundreds of flights have been disrupted by the smoke, raising concerns for airline operations in the region.