Anak Krakatoa eruption forces Indonesia to close six airports

Ash from Anak Krakatoa forced Indonesia to close six airports, including Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta, one of Southeast Asia’s main air hubs. More than 370 flights were affected after ash spread toward Banten, West Java, Jakarta, Lampung and Bengkulu.

The volcano, located in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, erupted on Friday night before activity ceased on Sunday, Indonesia’s Geological Agency said. Its director, Lana Saria, ruled out a tsunami risk this time.

The Transport Ministry said five airports on Java, Soekarno-Hatta, Halim Perdanakusuma, Budiarto, Pondok Cabe and Husein Sastranegara, along with Sumatra’s Radin Inten airport, would remain closed temporarily. The closures would last for an undetermined period while authorities continued evaluating conditions.

Soekarno-Hatta had been closed since 1:30 a.m. local time. The disruption there involved 202 flights: 172 cancellations, 18 delays, seven postponements, four diversions and one aircraft that returned after takeoff. Civil aviation director general Lukman F. Laisa said more than 22,000 passengers were affected at the airport, including travelers flying to Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, Seoul, Doha, Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur, as well as domestic destinations such as Denpasar, Lampung and Surabaya.

Anak Krakatoa emerged from the sea in 1927, more than half a century after the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa. The earlier disaster killed more than 36,000 people. On Dec. 22, 2018, an eruption of Anak Krakatoa caused part of its cone to collapse and triggered a tsunami that struck holidaymakers on the coasts of Java and Sumatra. Official figures recorded 425 deaths, 25 missing people and about 14,000 injuries.