SIA, Scoot cancel flights to and from Jakarta due to Mount Anak Krakatau eruption

[JAKARTA] An eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Anak Krakatau caused five airports to suspend flight operations on Sep 6, affecting hundreds of flights at Jakarta’s main airport, after some school activities and fishing were halted. Soekarno-Hatta International Airport suspended flight operations further until 5.30pm local time (6.30pm in Singapore) due to volcanic ash, stranding hundreds of passengers at the facility. The suspension has affected 301 flights, including 58 international flights, airport operator Angkasa Pura said.

Anak Krakatau, which is roughly halfway between Java and Sumatra in Indonesia’s vast island chain, has been erupting since late on Sep 4, with volcanic ash detected at the airport early on Sep 6, the transport ministry said.

Singapore Airlines flights were among those affected. SIA said in an update at 11.30am on Sep 6 that 19 flights have been cancelled. This includes two flights which had been earlier retimed.

Two flights on Sep 5, one departing from Singapore to Jakarta and the other, departing Jakarta for Singapore, were cancelled, Singapore’s national carrier said in an advisory that day.

These are the 19 affected SIA flights (all times local):

• SQ950 departing Singapore for Jakarta on Sep 6 at 6.20 am
• SQ952 departing Singapore for Jakarta on Sep 6 at 7.40 am
• SQ956 departing Singapore for Jakarta on Sep 6 at 9.05 am
• SQ953 departing Jakarta for Singapore on Sep 6 at 8.05 am
• SQ955 departing Jakarta for Singapore on Sep 6 at 9.25 am
• SQ957 departing Jakarta for Singapore on Sep 6 at 11 am
• SQ958 departing Singapore for Jakarta on Sep 6 at 12.35 pm
• SQ968D departing Singapore for Jakarta on Sep 6 at 1.55 pm
• SQ960 departing Singapore for Jakarta on Sep 6 at 3.10 pm
• SQ959 departing Jakarta for Singapore on Sep 6 at 2.20 pm
• SQ962 departing Singapore for Jakarta on Sep 6 at 4.15 pm
• SQ951D departing Jakarta for Singapore on Sep 6 at 3.50 pm
• SQ964 departing Singapore for Jakarta on Sep 6 at 5.20 pm
• SQ961 departing Jakarta for Singapore on Sep 6 at 5 pm
• SQ966 departing Singapore for Jakarta on Sep 6 at 6.30 pm
• SQ963 departing Jakarta for Singapore on Sep 6 at 6.05 pm
• SQ965 departing Jakarta for Singapore on Sep 6 at 7.20 pm
• SQ967 departing Jakarta for Singapore on Sep 6 at 8.15 pm
• SQ968D departing Singapore for Jakarta on Sep 6 at 9.55 pm

Noting that the situation remains fluid, SIA said its other flights between Singapore and Indonesia may be affected. The latest flight information can be found on its flight status page, it said.

SIA’s budget arm Scoot cancelled 12 flights on Sunday, according to its website at noon.

The cancelled Scoot flights are:

• TR274, originally scheduled to depart Singapore for Jakarta at 7.50 am
• TR275, originally scheduled to depart Jakarta for Singapore at 9.35 am
• TR276, originally scheduled to depart Singapore for Jakarta at 10 am
• TR277, originally scheduled to depart Jakarta for Singapore at 11.55 am
• TR308, originally scheduled to depart Singapore for Jakarta at 11.35 am
• TR309, originally scheduled to depart Jakarta for Singapore at 2.15 pm
• TR272D that was initially retimed to depart Singapore for Jakarta at 8.25 pm
• TR273D that was initially retimed to depart Jakarta for Singapore at 2.50 pm
• TR278, originally scheduled to depart Singapore for Jakarta at 6.15 pm
• TR279, originally scheduled to depart Jakarta for Singapore at 8 pm
• TR272, originally scheduled to depart Singapore for Jakarta at 8.30 pm
• TR273, originally scheduled to depart Jakarta for Singapore at 10.15 pm

Other carriers, such as Batik Air, TransNusa, Citilink and Garuda Indonesia, cancelled some of their early flights, but still have later departures scheduled for the day.

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Changi Airport said in a Facebook post at about 11.05 am on Sunday that due to volcanic activity at Mount Anak Krakatau, flights to and from Jakarta are affected.

It advised travellers to check with their respective airlines for updates and advice.

Ash was identified as high as 6,000 metres on the Java side of the volcano and a plume of up to 15,000 metres on the Sumatra side and some parts of Banten province in Java, the meteorological agency BMKG posted on its website.

Ersy Laksita Rini, 55, was upset when she arrived at Soekarno-Hatta International and learned that her 8am flight to Surabaya had been cancelled. She said the airline did not inform her ahead of time.

“If the eruption happened last night and there were predictions of flight cancellations, we should have been notified from the start,” she said. “That way, passengers wouldn’t have needed to come here so early and could have looked for alternatives instead.”

French national Eloan Tasset, 21, got a text from Batik Air that his flight to his holiday destination of Manado in North Sulawesi had been delayed, but he said it was unclear how long the delay would be.

“If they tell me my flight is cancelled, I think I’m going to try to find a hotel in Jakarta,” he said.

The airport operator said it was providing food and light refreshments for affected passengers and buses to hotels, in coordination with the airlines.

The disaster mitigation agency BNPB said it would conduct a weather modification operation, which could include cloud-seeding, on Sep 6 to promote rain.

“If it rains heavily enough, the volcanic ash that has been disrupting our daily lives since yesterday and continuing today will be washed away quickly,” BNPB chief Suharyanto told reporters.

The transport ministry named three other airports across Java – Kertajati, Ahmad Yani and Juanda – as alternatives, “should airlines or operators be able to divert their flights”, said Minister Dudy Purwagandhi.

“BNPB urges the public to remain calm while increasing vigilance. In the event of ashfall, people are advised to wear masks and eye protection, reduce outdoor activities, cover water sources and exercise caution when driving, as volcanic ash can reduce visibility,” he said. REUTERS

• Additional reporting by The Straits Times