More news on this day
A major eruption of Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau volcano has disrupted one of Asia’s busiest aviation corridors, grounding more than 1,500 flights and stranding around 170,000 passengers after ash clouds forced the closure of eight airports, including Jakarta’s main international gateway.
Get the latest news straight to your inbox!
Airports closed across western Indonesia
Publicly available information from Indonesia’s transport authorities shows that operations were suspended on Sunday, 6 September, at Soekarno Hatta International Airport outside Jakarta along with seven other airports across western Indonesia as volcanic ash from Anak Krakatau drifted across key flight paths. The closures affected both domestic and international services linking the capital with Southeast Asia, Australia, the Middle East and other parts of the country.
Data compiled by regional and international news outlets indicates that more than 1,500 flights were cancelled or heavily disrupted across the eight airports, with roughly 170,000 passengers unable to travel as planned. Soekarno Hatta alone accounted for close to 1,000 affected flights, underscoring the scale of disruption at Indonesia’s main aviation hub.
Jakarta’s smaller Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, Bandung’s Husein Sastranegara Airport in West Java and Radin Inten Airport in Lampung province were among the additional facilities affected, along with several regional gateways closer to the Sunda Strait. Operators extended closures into Monday morning local time as ash continued to move across western Java and southern Sumatra.
While some airports outside the main ash plume, including Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport, remained open, reports from aviation trackers and passenger accounts describe knock on delays and reroutings as airlines adjusted flight plans to avoid contaminated airspace.
Passenger disruption from terminals to island resorts
Coverage from Indonesian and international media describes crowded terminals, long queues at airline service desks and passengers seeking last minute accommodation as flight boards filled with cancellations. Travellers connecting through Jakarta to Bali, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and domestic destinations such as Surabaya and Medan faced missed connections and rapidly changing itineraries.
Some long haul services bound for Jakarta were diverted to alternative hubs in the region or returned to their points of origin. Regional carriers also adjusted routings to skirt the ash cloud, increasing flying times and creating additional delays even on flights that ultimately operated.
The disruption has rippled through Indonesia’s tourism sector at the tail end of the northern summer travel period. Bali bound visitors arriving via alternate routes reported extended layovers and rebookings as airlines worked to re position aircraft and crew. Local reports also note impacts on business travellers and migrant workers who rely on the Jakarta hub for international connections.
Travel forums and social media posts from stranded passengers emphasize the importance of checking flight status directly with airlines and airports before heading to terminals, as schedules continue to adjust while authorities reassess ash concentrations over the coming days.
Volcanic ash hazard over the Sunda Strait
Anak Krakatau is located in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra, on the site of the caldera formed by the catastrophic Krakatau eruption of 1883. Monitoring agencies reported a sustained eruptive phase beginning late on Friday, with lava fountains and dense ash columns rising high into the atmosphere.
Satellite imagery and meteorological data cited in regional coverage show ash plumes reaching altitudes of up to 15,000 to 20,000 metres on different sides of the volcano, high enough to intersect major jet routes serving Jakarta and other Indonesian cities. With ash drifting more than 150 kilometres from the vent, even airports far from the crater were forced to suspend operations.
Volcanic ash poses a well documented risk to jet engines and aircraft systems, prompting aviation regulators to adopt a conservative approach when plumes intersect busy airspace. In past eruptions elsewhere in the world, prolonged ash events have grounded tens of thousands of flights as authorities balanced safety with economic impact. The current Anak Krakatau episode is smaller in scale but follows the same safety first principle.
The volcano has a history of hazardous activity, including a partial flank collapse and deadly tsunami in 2018. Scientists continue to monitor the current eruption closely, but early assessments reported in specialist outlets suggest that activity, while intense, remains well below the most extreme historic scenarios associated with the Krakatau system.
Domestic and international travel implications
For travellers heading to or transiting through Indonesia in the coming days, published advisories recommend building additional flexibility into itineraries. Airlines are generally allowing affected passengers to rebook without change fees, subject to availability, but peak season loads mean that some routes will take time to normalize.
Tourism operators in Jakarta, West Java and popular island destinations are urging visitors to maintain close contact with hotels and tour providers, as check in and tour schedules may need to shift in line with revised flight times. Travel insurance policies that cover natural hazards and trip interruption may help offset additional accommodation and rebooking costs for some visitors.
Industry analysts quoted in regional reporting note that Indonesia’s aviation sector has become increasingly resilient to volcanic events, with enhanced satellite monitoring, dedicated ash advisory centres and clearer communication protocols between meteorological agencies, air traffic control and airlines. Even so, the scale of cancellations from this Anak Krakatau eruption illustrates the continuing vulnerability of air travel in a country that sits along the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire.
Travellers with upcoming trips to Indonesia, including onward journeys to Bali, Lombok or Komodo, are advised to monitor airline notifications and government travel advisories, especially if their itineraries depend on transiting through Jakarta or other western Indonesian hubs affected by the ash cloud.
Wider impact on communities and infrastructure
Beyond aviation, Indonesian media highlight knock on effects for coastal communities around the Sunda Strait. Ash fall and poor visibility have restricted some fishing activities, while light ash deposits have been reported in parts of Banten province and Lampung, prompting local cleanup efforts. Education officials in ash affected areas temporarily shifted some school activities as a precaution.
The eruption is also drawing renewed attention to disaster preparedness around Indonesia’s many active volcanoes. Authorities regularly conduct evacuation drills and issue hazard maps for communities near high risk slopes, but large scale air travel disruption from ash clouds underscores how volcanic activity can affect regions far from the crater itself.
Infrastructure operators and airlines are expected to review the performance of contingency plans once the current crisis eases, including the speed of decision making on airport closures, clarity of passenger communications and the robustness of alternative routings. Lessons from Anak Krakatau may inform future responses not only in Indonesia but in other volcanic regions with heavy air traffic.
For now, the priority for travellers remains practical: confirm bookings, stay informed about ash related airspace restrictions and allow extra time for journeys through Indonesia’s key aviation gateways as Anak Krakatau’s latest eruption continues to reshape regional travel plans.
Gulf News coverage of Anak Krakatau disruption
The Guardian report on Indonesia airport closures