Volcanic eruption halts Indonesia airport op

About 170,000 passengers were left stranded Sunday after Indonesia shut its main international airport and seven others when Mount Anak Krakatoa sent volcanic ash into the surrounding airspace.

The volcano, more than 150 kilometers from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, erupted Saturday with a fountain of lava and booming sounds heard hundreds of kilometers away, the geology agency said. Two further eruptions were recorded Sunday. Authorities extended the airport suspensions until 8:59 a.m. Monday because of the increased activity.

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Everybody was disappointed

The Transportation Ministry said 1,558 flights had been delayed across the eight affected airports. More than 900 of those flights were to or from Soekarno-Hatta. The Husein Sastranegara airport in Bandung and Radin Inten II airport near Bandar Lampung were among the other facilities closed. Airports in Semarang and Surabaya were prepared as alternatives for landing, Transportation Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said.

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Nothing is certain for the moment

Passengers struggled to rearrange their journeys. Henny Yensan, 44, had planned to return to her hometown with her mother but rescheduled her flight for Tuesday. “Everybody was disappointed,” she told AFP, adding that nobody became angry because the disruption resulted from a natural disaster. Samuel Guiberteau, a Danone executive who had been in Lombok since Friday, said “nothing is certain for the moment” after an alternative Citilink flight was also cancelled.

Volcanic ash blanketed parked cars and roadsides in Bandar Lampung. Andre Bayu Saputra, 25, said he worried it could affect people’s lungs and cause infection. Jakarta said schools would close Monday and move classes online. Ships using the strait between Java and Sumatra were asked to increase vigilance because the volcanic activity could disrupt navigation safety.

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I’m worried it could seriously affect the lungs and cause a lung infection