An eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Anak Krakatau on Sunday led six airports to suspend operations, disrupting 301 flights, including 58 international services.
Singapore Airlines cancelled all flights to and from Jakarta for the remainder of the day.
Located in the Sunda Strait between Indonesia’s main islands of Java and Sumatra, the volcanic island had shown heightened activity since Friday, according to the country’s Geological Agency.
The volcano erupted for around 30 seconds at 3:53 a.m. on Sunday, with closed-circuit cameras operated by the agency capturing bursts of lava from the mountain.
No casualties were immediately reported, and authorities did not order an evacuation. The nearest settlement is located more than 16 kilometres away. However, residents and tourists were advised to remain at least 3 kilometres from the active crater.
Anak Krakatau has continued erupting since late Friday. Volcanic ash was also detected at Jakarta’s airport early Sunday, according to the transport ministry.
VOLCANIC ASH DISRUPTS JAKARTA FLIGHTS
The Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation reported that volcanic ash had spread across parts of Jakarta and Lampung province at the southern end of Sumatra.
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport halted flight operations temporarily between 5:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. following the increase in volcanic activity.
At the airport, passengers sought refunds and retrieved their checked luggage as the number of cancellations displayed on departure boards continued to rise.
Indonesia’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation said it was monitoring the eruption’s impact and working with airlines, airport operators, air navigation authorities and the meteorological agency.
The disruption affected 209 flight movements and approximately 22,800 passengers on Sunday. Domestic flights to Makassar in South Sulawesi were among those affected, while Singapore recorded the largest number of disrupted international services.
Other international destinations affected by cancellations, delays or schedule changes included Hong Kong, Sydney, Amsterdam, Seoul, Doha and Kuala Lumpur. Flights to Lampung, Bali and Surabaya within Indonesia were also 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 disruptions could continue to spread through airline operations, affecting aircraft rotations, fleet availability and terminal capacity as carriers attempted to return to normal schedules.
Passengers were advised to contact their airlines for the latest information and avoid visiting the airport unless necessary.
TWO ASH CLOUDS DETECTED
Indonesia’s volcanology agency, along with Australia’s Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre, detected two volcanic ash plumes through satellite imagery.
One ash cloud rose to approximately 20,000 feet (6,100 metres) before moving northeast, affecting parts of Jakarta, Banten and West Java along with nearby waters.
The second plume climbed to about 50,000 feet (15,200 metres) and travelled west and northwest across parts of Banten, Lampung and Bengkulu provinces, the southern Sunda Strait and areas of the Indian Ocean west of Sumatra.
ANAK KRAKATAU'S DEADLY HISTORY
Anak Krakatau, which means “child of Krakatau”, developed from the remains of the legendary Krakatau volcano, whose enormous 1883 eruption contributed to a period of global cooling.
The volcano was also responsible for a deadly tsunami in 2018 that claimed at least 430 lives across Sumatra and Java. Scientists believe volcanic activity caused an underwater landslide, resulting in the collapse of a large section of Anak Krakatau’s southwestern slope and displacing a massive amount of seawater.
Since that disaster, Anak Krakatau has remained at the second-highest level on Indonesia’s four-tier volcanic alert system. Researchers estimate that the volcanic island is now only around one-quarter of its original size.
