Indonesia’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, the country’s main aviation gateway, was temporarily closed early on Sunday after volcanic ash from the erupting Mount Anak Krakatau drifted into the surrounding airspace, disrupting dozens of flights in and out of the capital.
The transportation ministry said operations were suspended from around 1:30 am local time, with the closure later extended after further eruptive activity was detected.
Why was the airport forced to close?
According to Indonesia’s transport ministry, ground tests carried out at the airport returned positive results indicating the presence of volcanic ash in the surrounding area, prompting authorities to extend the initial suspension. Aviation officials said the closure was subsequently lengthened by several more hours after monitoring agencies recorded increased eruptive activity from the volcano, located in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra.
How many flights were affected?
Lukman F. Laisa, the transport ministry’s director general of civil aviation, said the disruption hit both international and domestic services at the country’s busiest airport. According to the ministry, 16 international flights were cancelled, seven delayed and five rescheduled, with affected routes including Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, Seoul, Doha, Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur. On the domestic side, four flights were cancelled and one was diverted, with services to Lampung, Denpasar and Surabaya among those hit.
Some reports citing airport data put the wider toll of affected services, including delays and knock-on disruptions, considerably higher, with tens of thousands of passengers said to have experienced some form of disruption to their travel plans over the weekend.
What is happening with the volcano itself?
Indonesia’s volcanology agency said Anak Krakatau, meaning “child of Krakatoa” in Indonesian, had been erupting since late Friday, producing a fountain of lava and booming sounds reported to be audible as far as 700 kilometres away. The agency recorded two further eruptions on Sunday and said it continued to closely track the volcano’s activity.
Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency said on Saturday that there was no imminent risk of a tsunami as a result of the eruption, addressing a concern that has loomed over the volcano since a deadly tsunami linked to a partial collapse of Anak Krakatau killed hundreds of people along Indonesia’s coastline in 2018.
How are authorities responding to the disruption?
Laisa said aviation authorities were continuing to coordinate closely with airlines, the airport operator, the national air navigation service provider and Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency to track the movement of the ash cloud and determine when it would be safe to fully resume normal operations. Specialist aviation advisories tracking ash plumes near key airports around Jakarta, including Soekarno-Hatta, Halim Perdanakusuma and Pondok Cabe, were used to guide the timing of the restrictions.
Why does volcanic ash pose such a serious risk to aviation?
Volcanic ash can severely damage aircraft engines and reduce visibility for pilots, making it standard practice for airports to suspend operations whenever ash is detected nearby. Indonesia, which sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire” and is home to more active volcanoes than any other country, has experienced repeated aviation disruptions from volcanic activity in recent years, including previous closures at airports serving Bali and Java after eruptions from other volcanoes in the region.
What happens next for affected travellers?
By mid-morning on Sunday, conditions around Soekarno-Hatta were reported to have improved sufficiently for authorities to begin restoring flight schedules, though airlines were expected to continue reassessing routes depending on how the ash cloud moves in the coming hours. Passengers on affected international and domestic routes have been advised to check directly with their airlines for updated departure times as normal operations resume.
