Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau erupts, throwing airports into chaos

Indonesia has gone on alert after intense activity at Anak Krakatau caused major disruption, affecting hundreds of flights and leaving thousands of passengers facing delays and cancellations. Volcanic ash has also disrupted schools, fishing activity and daily life in several areas.

The volcano, located in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, began erupting late Friday night. Continuous seismic activity, lava ejections and powerful blasts followed, with two more eruptions recorded early Sunday.

Ash temporarily halted operations at eight airports. Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said 712 flights had been affected in total. At Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, one of the country’s largest, more than 150,000 passengers faced delays and cancellations as the airport repeatedly suspended operations during the day.

The airport operator initially reported that 301 flights had been affected, including 58 international flights, before the figure increased. Disruptions mainly involved flights to and from Singapore, as well as international routes to Doha, Sydney and Kuala Lumpur. Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines announced cancellations to and from Jakarta for the rest of the day.

Purwagandhi called on airlines to consider diverting flights to airports including Kertajati, Ahmad Yani and Juanda. He also asked them to speed up refunds for passengers on cancelled flights and promptly inform travelers with scheduled journeys to prevent further crowding at airports.

Indonesia’s meteorological service said ash reached about 6,000 metres on the Java side and up to 15,000 metres on the Sumatra side. Authorities urged people in affected areas to limit outdoor activities, wear masks and protective glasses, cover water sources and take extra care while driving because the ash was severely reducing visibility.