Volcanic ash leaves 170,000 travelers stranded at eight Indonesian airports

Volcanic ash from Mount Anak Krakatau has stranded 170,000 travelers and kept eight Indonesian airports closed, including two serving Jakarta.

The volcano, located between Java and Sumatra, began erupting late Friday. Ash spread across Jakarta and nearby areas, prompting airport closures for safety reasons. Operators said Jakarta’s main airport would remain closed until 6 p.m. local time on Monday.

Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said the weather remained dynamic, making it impossible to determine when the disruption would end. Seven other airports, including those serving the nearby provinces of Lampung and West Java, were due to remain closed until at least 8:59 a.m.

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

The volcano monitoring agency recorded Anak Krakatau erupting most recently at 8:23 p.m. on Sunday and warned that the probability of further eruptions remained high. Ash reached as high as 20,000 feet on the Java side and 50,000 feet on the Sumatra side and in parts of Banten province, according to the meteorological agency BMKG.

Authorities urged people to wear masks outdoors to avoid breathing in ash. Schools in Jakarta and Lampung moved to remote learning to reduce health risks for students. Indonesia lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are frequent. Anak Krakatau, meaning child of Krakatau, emerged about a century ago from the area once occupied by Krakatau, whose 1883 eruptions killed 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.