Anak Krakatau ash halts flights at Indonesia’s Jakarta and Lampung airports; SIA services cancelled
As many as 209 flights and 22,798 passengers were affected by the closure at Soekarno-Hatta airport
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INDONESIA suspended flights at airports in Jakarta and Lampung on Sunday (Sep 6) after volcanic ash from Mount Anak Krakatau spread across parts of Java and Sumatra, according to state-owned airport operator InJourney Airports.
The shutdown at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, which serves Jakarta, was extended until 1.30 pm, local time. Lampung’s Radin Inten II International Airport halted operations until 8 am.
Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta was shut until 10 am, CNN Indonesia reported. The closures also affected operations at Yogyakarta International, Minangkabau International in West Sumatra and Supadio International in West Kalimantan as flight schedules were adjusted, InJourney said on its social media account.
As many as 209 flights and 22,798 passengers were affected by the closure at Soekarno-Hatta airport, Lukman F Laisa, director general of civil aviation at Indonesia’s transport ministry, said in a statement. Sixteen international flights were cancelled, while seven were delayed and five rescheduled for service to Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, Seoul, Doha, Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur, he said.
Anak Krakatau, located in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra, has been active since early July, with eruptions intensifying on the night of Sep 4, Indonesian news site Kompas.com reported.
Ash was detected over parts of Jakarta, Banten and West Java as of 9 am on Sunday, as well as areas around Lampung, Bengkulu and South Sumatra, according to the weather agency’s website.
Singapore Airlines said in a statement on Saturday that it cancelled two flights and rescheduled another two, while Cathay Pacific waived rebooking, rerouting and refund charges for affected passengers.
Garuda Indonesia said it was adjusting several flights to and from Jakarta following the temporary closure of Soekarno-Hatta International.
“A number of AirAsia flights to and from Jakarta were cancelled or rescheduled,” AirAsia Indonesia’s acting chief executive officer Achmad Sadikin said in a statement.
“The volcanic ash situation has also required operational adjustments to selected AirAsia services whose flight paths may be affected,” he said, adding that the airline has notified affected guests of their flight status and recovery options.
A flank collapse at Anak Krakatau likely triggered a tsunami in 2018 that killed more than 400 people and injured over 1,000 residents and holidaymakers in Lampung and Banten. BLOOMBERG
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