340,000 stranded as Indonesia volcano keeps airports closed for another day

International

LONG queues and stranded travellers filled Jakarta's airports on Monday as volcanic ash from Anak Krakatau forced another day of flight cancellations, affecting more than 340,000 passengers across Indonesia.

Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport extended its closure after volcanic ash remained near its airspace, delaying its planned 18:00 (11:00 GMT) reopening. Flights are now expected to resume at 23:59 on Monday. Halim Perdanakusuma, which serves civil and military flights, will also remain closed until then.

The disruption followed an eruption by Anak Krakatau late on Friday that produced lava fountains and sent ash towards Jakarta and Lampung province. The volcano remained seismically active through the weekend.

At Soekarno-Hatta, passengers crowded departure halls seeking refunds and updates. Finna, 46, had been due to fly from Malang in East Java to Jakarta on Sunday, but repeated schedule changes left passengers uncertain.

"It was very crowded because passengers from the morning flights had piled up, while those scheduled for later departures still didn't know what would happen," the 46-year-old told BBC Indonesian.

Finna eventually travelled overnight on two intercity trains, reaching Jakarta at 03:00 on Monday.

The disruption left travellers scrambling to find alternative transport, rearrange itineraries and cope with unexpected costs. Some faced extended stays in airport hotels, while others were forced to rethink onward travel after being told flights could be delayed for several days.

For some, the disruption was more than an inconvenience, with travellers having to stretch limited holiday budgets and make arrangements for accommodation and transport while waiting for flights to resume.

The Geological Agency warned Monday that "the probability of further eruptions in the coming periods remains high".

The most recent eruption occurred at 20:23 on Sunday, according to BMKG. Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said authorities could not determine when the airport closures would end because weather conditions remained changeable. He said on Sunday that authorities were conducting tests every 30 minutes to monitor whether the ash spread was widening or subsiding.

Authorities have imposed a 3km exclusion zone around the active crater and prohibited ships from entering the zone. Officials said there was no tsunami warning linked to the current activity.

Anak Krakatau emerged from the sea in the early 20th Century within the caldera formed by the 1883 Krakatoa eruption. Its collapse in 2018 triggered a tsunami that killed more than 400 people.(MyTVCebu)