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🇮🇩 Indonesia /Energy & Infrastructure

Soekarno-Hatta Airport Closure Forces Persija to Travel Through Yogyakarta After Borneo FC Match

From Republika · () Indonesian

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

At a glance

Newswire Named sources Ongoing story
  • Persija traveled by bus from Yogyakarta to Jakarta after volcanic ash temporarily closed Soekarno-Hatta Airport.
  • The team first flew from Balikpapan to Yogyakarta after beating Borneo FC 1-0 in Samarinda.
  • The airport closure affected 764 flights, while Persija faced a Super League match against Persib on Sept. 12.

Persija's return to Jakarta took an unexpected turn after volcanic ash from Mount Anak Krakatau shut Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. Instead of flying directly from Samarinda, the team traveled through Balikpapan and landed in Yogyakarta before taking a bus to the capital.

"We took the Yogyakarta-Jakarta bus," Persija media officer Kukuh Wahyudi said when contacted from Jakarta on Sunday night, Sept. 6, 2026.

The team had originally been scheduled to fly from Samarinda to Soekarno-Hatta after facing Borneo FC at Segiri Stadium on Saturday. Persija won that opening match of the two teams' 2026/2027 Super League campaign, but the changing aviation situation forced the squad to revise its travel plans.

We took the Yogyakarta-Jakarta bus.

· Kukuh WahyudiPersija's media officer described the team's altered journey back to Jakarta.

The club is racing against time before its next major fixture against rival Persib at Jakarta's Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium on Sept. 12. InJourney Airports said the volcanic ash affected 764 flights at Soekarno-Hatta, causing cancellations, delays and diverted landings.

The airport stopped operating at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday and remained temporarily closed until 11:59 p.m. Thick volcanic ash prompted the decision. Halim Perdanakusuma, Husein Sastranegara, Pondok Cabe, Budiarto, Radin Inten II, Pagar Alam and Taufik Kiemas airports also followed similar procedures. AirNav Indonesia said the closures aimed to protect flight safety.

The closures at the affected airports were carried out to support flight safety.

· Hermana SoegijantoroThe AirNav Indonesia corporate secretary explained the airport closures.
About this summary

Originally published by Republika in Indonesian. 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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