JAKARTA, Sept 6: Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau volcano erupted early Sunday, forcing a temporary suspension of flight operations at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport as volcanic ash spread across several areas of western Indonesia.
Indonesia’s Geological Agency said the volcano, located in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, had shown increased activity since Friday. Anak Krakatau erupted for about 30 seconds at 3:53 a.m. local time, with the agency’s monitoring cameras recording lava flares from the crater.
No casualties were reported and authorities did not order evacuations. The nearest settlement is located more than 16 kilometres (10 miles) from the volcano. However, residents and visitors were advised to remain at least 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) away from the active crater.
The Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation reported that ash from the eruption reached parts of Jakarta and Lampung province on the southern tip of Sumatra.
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport temporarily halted flight operations between 5:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. due to the heightened volcanic activity. The disruption prompted passengers to seek refunds and collect checked baggage as multiple departures were cancelled.
Indonesia’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation said it was monitoring the situation and coordinating with airlines, airport authorities, air navigation providers and the country’s meteorological agency.
Around 170 aircraft that had remained overnight were still parked on the airport’s aprons, officials said.
The temporary closure disrupted 209 flight movements and affected approximately 22,800 passengers. One of the most affected domestic routes was the service to Makassar in South Sulawesi, while Singapore recorded the highest number of disruptions among international destinations.
Flights involving Hong Kong, Sydney, Amsterdam, Seoul, Doha and Kuala Lumpur also faced cancellations, delays or schedule changes. Several domestic services to Lampung, Bali and Surabaya were cancelled or diverted.
“Safety remains our top priority in every operational decision,” said Lukman F. Laisa, the Ministry of Transportation’s director general of civil aviation.
He cautioned that the disruption could have a wider impact as airlines attempt to restore normal schedules, potentially affecting aircraft rotations, fleet availability and airport terminal capacity.
Authorities advised passengers to check directly with their airlines for updated schedules and urged travellers to avoid going to the airport unless necessary.
Indonesia’s volcanology agency, along with Australia’s Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre, identified two separate ash clouds through satellite imagery.
One plume rose to around 20,000 feet (6,100 metres) and moved northeast, affecting areas including Jakarta, Banten and West Java, as well as surrounding waters.
A second ash cloud climbed to approximately 50,000 feet (15,200 metres) and travelled west and northwest. It covered parts of Banten, Lampung and Bengkulu, the southern Sunda Strait and portions of the Indian Ocean west of Sumatra.
Anak Krakatau, meaning “Child of Krakatau”, emerged from the remains of the famed Krakatau volcano, whose massive 1883 eruption triggered a devastating tsunami and atmospheric effects that contributed to global cooling.
The volcano was also responsible for a deadly tsunami in 2018 that killed at least 430 people in Java and Sumatra. Researchers linked the disaster to an underwater landslide caused by volcanic activity, which resulted in part of Anak Krakatau’s southwestern slope collapsing into the sea and displacing a large volume of water.
Anak Krakatau remains under the second-highest alert level on Indonesia’s four-tier volcanic warning system. Scientists say the island is now only about one-quarter of its original size following the 2018 collapse.