Indonesia volcano eruption cancels hundreds of flights at major airport hub

A volcanic eruption in Indonesia on Sunday has forced the cancellation of all flights at the capital city’s airport as volcanic ash drifted across the western parts of the country.

No casualties were reported and no evacuation orders were issued as the nearest settlement is more than 10 miles away, but authorities warned people to stay at least 2 miles clear of the crater.

Footage filmed from a fishing boat at sea showed lava shooting up from the volcano into the air.

Indonesia’s Geological Agency said the volcanic island located in Indonesia’s Sunda Strait between the main Java and Sumatra islands had shown signs of activity since Friday before erupting for 30 seconds in the early hours of Sunday.

Volcanic ash spread across parts of Jakarta and Lampung province on Sumatra’s southern tip, Indonesia’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation said.

AirNav Indonesia closed airspace around Soekarno-Hatta and Halim Perdanakusuma airports in Jakarta, as well as four other airports, including Radin Inten II Airport in Lampung, because of volcanic ash.

By Sunday evening, the closure of eight airports had affected 170,000 passengers from 1,558 canceled flights, including 963 flights in Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta airport alone. All eight airports were ordered closed until 8:59 a.m. Monday.

“It’s of course an inconvenience,” said Diego Urdiales, a Spanish tourist who was supposed to fly home to Madrid. “I was supposed to get input from the airline … but so far no news.”

“It’s a natural disaster, it’s a force majeure, so, what can we do?” said Michele Gouw, an Indonesian passenger. “We just have to accept it and wait for the airline and airport directions.” 

“Safety remains our top priority in every operational decision,” Lukman F. Laisa, Ministry of Transportation director general of civil aviation, said in a statement.

He warned flight schedules could face cascading disruptions affecting aircraft rotations, fleet availability and terminal capacity as airlines work to restore operations.

Indonesia’s volcanology agency and the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre identified two ash clouds using satellite imagery. One plume rose to 20,000 feet and drifted northeast over Jakarta, Banten, West Java and nearby waters. A second cloud reached 50,000 feet and spread over parts of Banten, Lampung and Bengkulu provinces, the southern Sunda Strait and sections of the Indian Ocean west of Sumatra.

Lana Saria, head of Indonesia’s Geological Agency, said activity at Anak Krakatau has intensified since July, with Sunday’s eruption the strongest during that period.

The repeated eruptions indicate a continued supply of magma and volcanic gases beneath the volcano, she said, though officials can’t predict whether a larger eruption will occur.

“We continue to evaluate the volcano’s development based on all monitoring data, not solely on the number of eruptions or the height of the ash column,” Saria said in a video briefing.

She said the main hazards include volcanic ash, high concentrations of gas and the ejection of hot rocks and other material around the crater area.

The eruption’s impact extended beyond air travel. The government on Sunday authorized schools in areas affected by volcanic ash could temporarily move to online learning at home. The measure is intended to reduce students’ exposure to ashfall and allow local authorities to adjust classroom activities based on conditions on the ground.

The name of the volcano Anak Krakatau means “child of Krakatau.” The more famous Krakatau had a monumental 1883 eruption that triggered a period of global cooling.

A 2018 eruption of Anak Krakatau killed at least 430 people in Sumatra and Java. Researchers believe volcanic activity triggered an underwater landslide and caused a large chunk of Anak Krakatau’s southwest slope to collapse and displace a large volume of water. Scientists said Anak Krakatau island was only about a quarter of its original size after that eruption.