A thick haze caused by fires in Indonesia has disrupted internal air services and forced flight cancellations in Malaysia's Sarawak state on Borneo island, an airport official said today.

National carrier Malaysia Airlines was forced to cancel several flights by small aircraft since Thursday as air quality had deteriorated, said a spokesman for Sarawak's Miri Airport.

He said that a number of flights servicing the state's rural areas had to be delayed or cancelled as smaller aircraft which fly at lower altitudes could not land or take off in the hazy conditions.