Volcanic eruption keeps key Indonesian airports closed

Jakarta’s two international airports, including the major Soekarno-Hatta Airport, will remain closed until at least Monday evening after volcanic ash from Anak Krakatau disrupted air travel across Indonesia.

More than 1,500 flights and about 170,000 passengers have been affected, Indonesian news agency Antara reported, citing Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi. Six smaller airports that have also been closed since the weekend had not yet been cleared to reopen. Bali’s airport remained open, but Jakarta is a major Southeast Asian aviation hub.

“Safety is our priority,” Purwagandhi said. Changing winds at different altitudes have made it difficult to predict how long the ash will continue to disrupt flights. Indonesia’s weather agency, BMKG, said the ash cloud reached 6,000 meters on the Java side of the volcano and 15,000 meters on the Sumatra side.

Anak Krakatau lies in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. Authorities plan to use cloud seeding to produce artificial rain and wash ash from the atmosphere and affected areas. In Bandar Lampung on Sumatra, city officials sprayed water on several main roads to reduce dust exposure and urged residents to wear masks. Anak Krakatau formed in the caldera left by the 1883 Krakatau eruption, which killed more than 36,000 people. In 2018, a partial collapse after an eruption triggered a tsunami that killed more than 400 people.

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Safety is our priority.