875 passengers stranded after Anak Krakatau eruption disrupts flights

The eruption of Anak Krakatau left 875 passengers unable to fly from Ambon to Jakarta on Sunday, as volcanic ash forced the temporary closure of the route at Pattimura Airport in Maluku.

Passengers waited at the terminal for information and approached Citilink and Garuda Indonesia counters about their disrupted flights. One passenger, Yan, said the airlines offered refunds of up to 100 percent, but travelers still did not know when flights would resume.

Pattimura Airport closed Ambon-Jakarta flights until 7 p.m. local time because the volcanic ash had not yet subsided. Flights from Ambon to Makassar, Surabaya, Papua and destinations elsewhere in Maluku continued to operate normally.

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This is because of the eruption, so we do not know when it will end. On the one hand, we are just following the flight situation, and on the other, they are offering a full refund, so there is still no certainty.

The 875 affected passengers were on eight flights: four from Ambon to Jakarta and four from Jakarta to Ambon. The airport asked passengers to cancel their tickets and said fares could be refunded in full. Officials had not determined when the route would reopen and were coordinating with other parties, including the destination airport.

The eruption also disrupted operations at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, where 75 flights were canceled on Sunday night. The airport's general manager, Muhammad Tohir, said the disruption at other airports created a knock-on effect for connectivity and flight rotations at Juanda.

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We have temporarily closed only the Ambon-Jakarta flights because the volcanic ash from Mount Anak Krakatau has not subsided.