Firefly, a subsidiary of Malaysia Aviation Group, said flights between Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport near Kuala Lumpur and Singapore's Seletar Airport had been cancelled up to Wednesday due to "weather and haze conditions", calling the move a "proactive safety measure". It first announced the cancellations on October 10, citing "low visibility". Affected passengers are being rebooked on Malaysia Airlines flights between Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Singapore's Changi Airport, subject to seat availability.
IQAir, a Swiss air quality monitoring company, ranked Singapore and Kuala Lumpur as the world's two most polluted cities on Tuesday, with Air Quality Index readings of 199 and 183 respectively. Readings above 150 are generally considered unhealthy, while those above 300 are classified as hazardous.
The fires, mostly on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Borneo, are the country's most intense in 11 years and have been spurred by El Nino, a weather pattern expected to be among the strongest in four decades. Indonesia has deployed about 60,000 personnel to fight the fires, though thick smoke has grounded 34 aircraft.
Singapore has reintroduced subsidised care for haze-related illnesses, a measure it last took in 2015. In Malaysia, schools reopened in most states on Tuesday as air quality improved slightly, but remain closed in three states, one federal territory and several districts.
The crisis is moving up the diplomatic agenda. Malaysia's foreign minister, Mohamad Hasan, said on Monday he would press for stronger regional mechanisms when ASEAN foreign ministers meet next month. "We already have an ASEAN mechanism for natural disasters, but haze is not included or classified as a natural disaster," he told reporters in Sepang, according to Bernama. The Philippines, which chairs the bloc, confirmed the issue will be on the agenda for the November meeting, which precedes the 49th ASEAN summit in Manila. "It's in the agenda," Dominic Xavier Imperial, a spokesman for the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, said.