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Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport has extended its temporary closure following the weekend eruption of Anak Krakatau, prolonging severe disruption to air travel across western Indonesia.
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Extended shutdown hits Jakarta’s main gateway
Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, one of Southeast Asia’s busiest hubs, remained partially closed into Monday after ash from Anak Krakatau drifted over key flight paths. Publicly available information from Indonesia’s Transportation Ministry shows that airspace restrictions and airport closures first took effect on Sunday, September 6, and were repeatedly extended as monitoring continued.
Notices to airmen (NOTAMs) cited in ministry updates indicated a rolling extension of the shutdown at Soekarno-Hatta and several nearby airports as paper tests and radar observations continued to detect volcanic ash in the vicinity of runways and approach routes. Reports indicate that at various points on Sunday and Monday, operations at Soekarno-Hatta were halted for blocks of several hours to allow further assessment and cleaning of airport surfaces.
Coverage in Indonesian and international media describes hundreds of stranded passengers crowding terminals in Tangerang, on the outskirts of Jakarta, after scheduled services were suspended. According to published coverage from Jakarta-based outlets, at least four airports, including Soekarno-Hatta, opted to prolong closures beyond initial reopening estimates as ash remained a concern in low-altitude airspace.
While some flights have since begun to resume on a limited basis, the pattern of intermittent closure and reopening has created ongoing uncertainty for travelers attempting to depart from or transit through Indonesia’s capital.
Multiple airports closed as ash cloud spreads
The impact of Anak Krakatau’s eruption has extended well beyond Jakarta. Data and statements posted on the Transportation Ministry’s official channels indicate that up to eight airports suspended operations at various times over the weekend as the ash plume spread across parts of Banten, Lampung and West Java provinces.
Among the affected facilities were Halim Perdanakusuma in East Jakarta, Radin Inten II in Lampung, Budiarto and Pondok Cabe in Banten, Husein Sastranegara in Bandung and Muhammad Taufiq Kiemas airport in Lampung. Several of these airports extended their closures into late Sunday and early Monday to allow further checks on runway conditions and engine exposure to ash.
Monitoring summaries from Indonesia’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation reported hundreds of flights disrupted on Sunday morning alone, with subsequent updates raising the tally to well over 300 affected services across the network. Separate reporting from Jakarta-based newspapers noted that total cancellations and delays across the extended closure period reached into the thousands, with hundreds of thousands of passengers impacted.
Air traffic control authorities also implemented temporary rerouting of overflights to avoid the ash-affected zones, increasing congestion along alternate corridors and adding extra flight time for some domestic and international routes.
Anak Krakatau’s renewed activity and ash risk
Anak Krakatau, a volcanic island in the Sunda Strait roughly 150 kilometers from Jakarta, entered a more active phase in recent weeks before erupting forcefully over the weekend. Bulletins from Indonesia’s volcanology agency and the national disaster management agency describe continuous activity, including lava fountains and sustained emission of ash, in the hours surrounding the airport closures.
According to publicly accessible monitoring reports, seismographs recorded a long-duration eruption early on Sunday, with tremors and ash release lasting for several hours. The volcano’s alert level had already been raised earlier in the season, reflecting increased seismicity and plume emissions since July.
Ash poses a particular hazard to aviation because it can obscure visibility, damage runway surfaces and disrupt aircraft engines if ingested. For this reason, aviation authorities in Indonesia have adopted a cautious stance, extending airport closures even as visible ash diminished in some locations, in order to complete paper tests, visual inspections and technical assessments.
Historical context has also framed decision-making. Anak Krakatau is the successor cone to Krakatau, whose 1883 eruption caused one of the deadliest volcanic disasters in recorded history. More recently, a 2018 partial collapse of Anak Krakatau triggered a tsunami in the Sunda Strait, underlining the volcano’s capacity for sudden, high-impact events.
Travel disruption across the region
For travelers, the extended closure at Jakarta and other airports has translated into widespread delays, cancellations and last-minute itinerary changes. Published news reports indicate that airlines serving Soekarno-Hatta and Halim Perdanakusuma cancelled or rescheduled large portions of their weekend and Monday schedules, with knock-on effects across domestic and regional networks.
Passengers connecting through Jakarta to destinations such as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bali and eastern Indonesian cities have faced particular uncertainty. Some carriers have advised travelers to rebook through alternative gateways where possible, including Surabaya and Denpasar, while Indonesian authorities have highlighted Kertajati International Airport in West Java as a designated alternative for rerouted services.
Airports and airlines have been processing large numbers of requests for refunds, rebookings and accommodation, contributing to long queues at customer service counters. Travelers posting on social media platforms described crowded terminals, repeatedly revised departure times and difficulty obtaining up-to-date information on when specific routes would resume.
With Anak Krakatau’s activity still under close observation, industry commentary suggests that schedules may continue to shift at short notice over the coming days, particularly for flights passing near the Sunda Strait or operating into affected airports.
What travelers should watch in the coming days
Travelers planning to fly into or out of Jakarta and surrounding regions this week face a fluid situation. While some international news coverage on Tuesday has noted the gradual resumption of flights, official bulletins from Indonesian transport authorities emphasize that reopening decisions remain contingent on real-time ash monitoring.
Publicly available information shows that aviation authorities are updating NOTAMs as conditions evolve, potentially adjusting operational hours at short notice. Airlines are therefore urging passengers to monitor their booking status through official channels and to allow extra time at airports once flights resume in order to navigate possible backlogs at check-in and security.
Travel industry observers point out that even after full reopening, it may take several days for schedules to normalize as carriers reposition aircraft and crews and work through accumulated demand. Routes with limited daily frequencies or complex connections are likely to remain vulnerable to further disruption if Anak Krakatau’s activity increases again.
For now, published coverage and government communications align on one core message: safety considerations related to volcanic ash will continue to drive operational decisions, and travelers should be prepared for evolving conditions at Jakarta’s main airport and across western Indonesia’s air network.
https://www.apnews.com/article/volcanic-island-anak-krakatau-erupts-canceling-hundreds-of-flights