Air transport in Indonesia was disrupted as volcanic ash from Anak Krakatau Island continued to spread. Five airports were temporarily closed, while dozens of domestic and international flights were canceled.
The Ministry of Transport announced that Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta, Raden Inten II Airport in Lampung, Budiarto Airport in Curug and Pondok Cabe Airport were closed after ash was detected.
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport has also been temporarily closed since 1:30 a.m. Sunday. The closure led to the cancellation of 33 flights at the airport and affected approximately 23,000 passengers.
The 170 aircraft that remained overnight on the airports’ aprons were confirmed to be safe. Airport operators continued coordinating with AirNav Indonesia and the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency while authorities monitored the movement of the ash.
Anak Krakatau’s alert level remains at the third tier
Anak Krakatau, located in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra, has remained at the third tier of Indonesia’s four-tier volcanic alert system since July 2. Access is restricted within a 3-kilometer radius of the volcano.
Wilya Yanto, director of earthquakes and tsunamis, said Sunday morning that volcanic activity was continuing and lava eruptions were recurring. Yanto said that although the frequency of the eruptions had decreased, the activity was ongoing.