Jakarta airport temporarily closed after volcanic ash detected, flights disrupted

Indonesia’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport near Jakarta was temporarily closed early Sunday after volcanic ash from an eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau was detected in the airport area, disrupting dozens of flights, the Ministry of Transportation said.

Due to increased eruptive activity at Mount Anak Krakatau, Soekarno-Hatta International Airport suspended flight operations until 1.30pm local time, the airport said on its Instagram account.

Lukman F Laisa, the ministry’s director general of civil aviation, said the disruption affected international and domestic flights at Indonesia’s main airport.

A total of 16 international flights were cancelled, seven were delayed and five were rescheduled, with affected routes including Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, Seoul, Doha, Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur. For domestic services, four flights were canceled and one was diverted, affecting routes including Lampung, Denpasar and Surabaya.

In addition to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, authorities temporarily closed Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta, Budiarto Airport in Curug, Tangerang, and Radin Inten II Airport in Lampung.

Around 23 000 passengers were affected by the closures, while 170 aircraft that had remained overnight on the apron at Soekarno-Hatta were confirmed safe, Lukman said.

Lukman said aviation authorities were continuing to monitor Mount Anak Krakatau’s activity and coordinate with airlines, the airport operator, the air navigation service provider and the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency to adjust flight operations based on volcanic ash conditions.

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