Jakarta and three other airports extend shutdown to 6pm after Anak Krakatau eruption disrupts travel

JAKARTA, Sept 7 — Jakarta’s main airport and three others extended their closure to 6pm today after being forced to halt operations due to a volcanic eruption, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded.

Mount Anak Krakatau, about 150 kilometres from Indonesia’s capital, erupted on Saturday, spewing a fountain of lava and plume of volcanic ash.

Eight airports halted operations over the weekend after ash was detected in their airspace, disrupting hundreds of flights and leaving more than 170,000 passengers stranded, according to the transport ministry.

At least four airports, including Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, extended their closure from this morning to 6pm (1100 GMT/7pm Malaysian time), airport operator Angkasa Pura said in a social media post.

“In connection with the increasing eruption activity of Mount Anak Krakatau, flight operations at several airports have been suspended; passengers are advised to regularly monitor their flight status with the respective airlines,” the operator said.

Halim Perdanakusuma, a smaller airport that caters to both civil and military flights, also extended its closure, the company said.

The probability of an eruption remains high until this morning, the country’s geology agency said.

“The threat from an eruption comes from the ejection of incandescent rocks accompanied by heavy ashfall. Another potential hazard arises from lava flows if the eruption resumes and continues,” the agency said.

Anak Krakatau, which means Child of Krakatau, sits in a strait that separates the islands of Java and Sumatra.

The volcano has been sporadically active since it emerged from the sea at the beginning of last century in the caldera that formed after the 1883 eruption of Mount Krakatau.

A 2018 tsunami triggered by a collapse of parts of Anak Krakatau killed 429 people and left thousands displaced. — AFP