Malaysia’s Firefly extends Seletar-Subang flight cancellations till Oct 13 amid haze

SINGAPORE – Malaysian low-cost carrier Firefly Airlines has extended the cancellation of its flights between Singapore’s Seletar Airport and Malaysia’s Subang Airport to a fourth consecutive day, until Oct 13.

This “proactive safety measure” is due to the “weather and haze situation affecting Seletar Airport”, it said in an update on its website.

The affected flights are:

Subang to Seletar:

• FY3122

• FY3124

• FY3126

• FY3128

• FY3130

• FY3132

Seletar to Subang:

• FY3123

• FY3125

• FY3127

• FY3129

• FY3131

• FY3133

The extension comes after the airline earlier cancelled flights between Seletar Airport and Malaysia’s Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang from Oct 10 to 12 due to the haze situation.

Firefly is a subsidiary of Malaysia Aviation Group, of which Malaysia Airlines is also part of. Among the planes in Firefly’s fleet includes twin turboprop aircraft, according to its website.

Affected passengers are being reallocated to Malaysia Airlines’ services between Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Changi Airport instead, subject to seat availability, Firefly said in the update on its website.

Those who do not want the reallocated flights can get a full refund, which will be processed and credited back to the original payment mode within 30 working days, the carrier added.

“Given the evolving weather situation, Firefly is monitoring developments closely. Further updates on flight schedules will be communicated directly to affected customers,” Firefly said.

In a cancellation notice dated Oct 10 and seen by The Straits Times, the airline said all scheduled outbound flights from Seletar to Subang on Oct 10 were cancelled due to “haze elevation” and “low visibility”.

For the first time since October 2023, air quality in Singapore breached unhealthy levels due to smoke haze on Sept 4, with the National Environment Agency issuing daily haze advisories since the evening of that day.

The Pollutant Standards Index, or PSI, hit a high of 192 this haze season on Oct 9, with the haze task force announcing on the evening of that day that, among other measures, it will distribute N95 masks to eligible Singaporeans when air quality hits “very unhealthy” levels.

Such levels are denoted by a Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) reading between 201 and 300.

Daniel Lai is a journalist at the ST Now team, covering breaking news and international affairs.