Thai Airways cancels Jakarta flights as volcanic ash shuts Indonesian airports

Thai Airways International cancelled its Jakarta flights on Monday as volcanic ash from Anak Krakatau forced the closure of eight Indonesian airports.

The airline cancelled flight TG433 from Bangkok to Jakarta and the return service, TG434. It cited the safety of passengers and flights because ash had spread over Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta’s main airport.

Anak Krakatau, also known as Krakatoa, lies between Java and Sumatra. Ash has blanketed Jakarta and surrounding areas since an eruption late Friday. The airport’s operators said the facility would remain closed until 6pm local time on Monday, while seven other airports, including those serving nearby Lampung and West Java, were due to remain closed until at least 8.59am.

Indonesian Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said authorities could not determine when the disruption would end because weather conditions remained changeable. The Transport Ministry said flight cancellations had affected 170,000 people.

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We cannot ascertain when this will end due to the dynamic weather.

The volcano monitoring agency recorded its latest eruption at 8.23pm on Sunday and warned that “the probability of further eruptions in the coming periods remains high”. The meteorological agency BMKG said ash had reached up to 6,000 metres on the Java side and 15,000 metres on the Sumatra side, as well as parts of Banten province.

Indonesia’s disaster agency advised people to wear masks outdoors. Schools in Jakarta and Lampung shifted to remote learning to reduce health risks for students.

Anak Krakatau began emerging about a century ago from the area formerly occupied by Krakatau. The older volcano destroyed itself in massive eruptions in 1883, killing more than 36,000 people in a series of tsunamis.

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The probability of further eruptions in the coming periods remains high.