Indonesia Flight Disruptions Send Travellers on 27-Hour Journeys as Fares Surge and Trains Sell Out

A two-hour flight from Bali to Jakarta became a 27-hour journey for Achmad Rifyannur after volcanic ash from Mount Anak Krakatau’s eruption cancelled his flight on Sunday.

The 29-year-old travel influencer first tried to book another flight, this time to Bandung in West Java. That flight was also cancelled as volcanic activity continued. With no indication of when air travel would resume, he travelled by ferry from Gilimanuk in Bali to Ketapang in Banyuwangi, East Java, then continued by train.

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I was supposed to fly back to Jakarta from Bali at 7am on Sunday with AirAsia because I had work on Monday.

The direct train to Jakarta had sold out, leaving Achmad to take a longer route with several changes. Banyuwangi is about 17 hours from Jakarta by train. “What should have been a short trip from Bali to Jakarta will now take me about 27 hours,” he told CNA. When he spoke to the news agency on Monday morning, he was still about two-thirds of the way home.

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What should have been a short trip from Bali to Jakarta will now take me about 27 hours.

The disruption affected travellers across Indonesia. Eight airports suspended operations from Sunday morning, including the country’s main international gateway, Soekarno-Hatta near Jakarta. The Transportation Ministry said that by 9am Monday, about 2,300 flights had been cancelled, delayed or diverted, affecting more than 270,000 passengers. Atung Bungsu Airport in South Sumatra later resumed operations.

Malaysian comedian Jason Leong also had to find another route after his flight from Jakarta to Subang was cancelled because of volcanic ash. He chose Yogyakarta rather than Surabaya, where Mount Semeru was also erupting, and booked a Monday evening flight to Kuala Lumpur.

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Ultimately I decided on Yogyakarta because Surabaya was also near an erupting volcano, and Bandung didn't have direct flights to Kuala Lumpur.