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🇺🇸 United States /Disasters & Emergencies

Indonesian volcanic eruption cancels hundreds of flights and disrupts airports

From PBS NewsHour · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire From a news agency Ongoing story
  • Anak Krakatau erupted twice Sunday in Indonesia’s Sunda Strait, sending ash across parts of western Indonesia without causing reported casualties or evacuations.
  • Authorities closed airspace around eight airports, including Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta airport, leading to 1,558 canceled flights and affecting 170,000 passengers.
  • Officials warned that the active volcano could cause further disruption as airlines restore schedules and monitored ash clouds over the region.

An eruption from Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau volcano forced the closure of eight airports on Sunday, disrupting 1,558 flights and affecting about 170,000 passengers.

The volcano, located in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, had shown signs of activity since Friday. Indonesia’s Geological Agency said it erupted for 30 seconds at 3:53 a.m. Sunday and again for 16 seconds about three hours later. Closed-circuit footage showed lava flares.

It’s of course an inconvenience.

· Diego UrdialesThe Spanish tourist described the disruption after his flight to Madrid was affected.

No casualties were reported and authorities issued no evacuation order. The nearest settlement lies more than 16 kilometers from the volcano, but officials warned residents and visitors to stay at least 3 kilometers from the active crater. Ash spread across parts of Jakarta and Lampung province on Sumatra’s southern tip.

AirNav Indonesia closed airspace around Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta and Halim Perdanakusuma airports, along with six other airports, including Radin Inten II in Lampung. By Sunday evening, 963 canceled flights had been recorded at Soekarno-Hatta alone. The airports were ordered to remain closed until midnight, while services were also disrupted at Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport and in Medan.

It’s a natural disaster, it’s a force majeure, so, what can we do? We just have to accept it and wait for the airline and airport directions.

· Michele GouwThe Indonesian passenger described how travelers were responding to the airport closures.

Passengers waited for information as airlines dealt with the closures. “It’s of course an inconvenience,” said Spanish tourist Diego Urdiales, who had been due to fly to Madrid. Indonesian passenger Michele Gouw said, “It’s a natural disaster, it’s a force majeure, so, what can we do? We just have to accept it and wait for the airline and airport directions.”

Indonesia’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation said it was monitoring the eruption and coordinating with airlines, airports, air navigation services and the meteorology agency. “Safety remains our top priority in every operational decision,” said Lukman F. Laisa, the ministry’s director general of civil aviation. He warned that flight schedules could face cascading disruptions involving aircraft rotations, fleet availability and terminal capacity.

Safety remains our top priority in every operational decision.

· Lukman F. LaisaThe civil aviation director explained the authorities’ approach to managing the eruption’s impact on flights.
About this summary

Originally published by PBS NewsHour in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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