Six Airports Shut as Ash Spreads Across Western Indonesia
A renewed eruption of Anak Krakatau in the early hours of Sunday triggered the suspension of operations at six Indonesian airports, including Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, the country's largest and the primary gateway into Jakarta. By mid-afternoon, the closures had touched 516 flight movements, with 202 flights and roughly 22,800 passengers affected at Soekarno-Hatta alone.
The volcano, which sits in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, erupted for approximately 30 seconds at 3:53 a.m. Sunday after showing increased activity since Friday. Closed-circuit footage captured lava flares from the crater. Lana Saria, head of Indonesia's Geological Agency, described Sunday's event as the strongest eruption during the current period of unrest, which she said had been intensifying since July.
Which Airports Were Affected
AirNav Indonesia closed airspace around both Soekarno-Hatta and Halim Perdanakusuma airports in Jakarta, as well as Radin Inten II Airport in Lampung and three additional airports. Indonesia's Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi confirmed that Husein Sastranegara Airport in Bandung was the last to be added to the closure list after volcanic material was detected affecting operations. Services at Bali's I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport and at Medan were also disrupted.
Satellite data identified two significant ash clouds. One climbed to around 20,000 feet and drifted over Jakarta, Banten, West Java and nearby waters. A second, larger plume reached roughly 50,000 feet and spread across Banten, Lampung, Bengkulu and portions of the Indian Ocean west of Sumatra.
Soekarno-Hatta was ordered to remain closed until at least 5:30 p.m. Civil Aviation Director General Lukman F. Laisa cautioned that disruption could persist even after airports reopen, because aircraft rotations, fleet availability and terminal capacity all take time to normalize.
Tsunami Concern and Current Alert Level
Authorities raised no evacuation orders and reported no casualties, but Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) was monitoring the situation closely given that Anak Krakatau's activity has historically been linked to tsunamis. Public anxiety has been shaped by the December 22, 2018 disaster, when volcanic activity triggered a tsunami that killed more than 400 people across Java and Sumatra.
Berton S.P. Panjaitan, acting head of BNPB's disaster information center, said a technical evaluation found that the volcano's growth since 2018 remained relatively limited and did not currently suggest a risk of the kind of massive collapse that caused the 2018 wave. Residents in coastal areas of Banten and Lampung were urged to stay calm. Anak Krakatau remains at Level III (Alert), and a three-kilometer exclusion zone around the active crater is in force for residents, fishermen and tourists.
Why It Matters for Hosts
Independent accommodation operators in Jakarta, Banten, Lampung and Bali should treat volcanic disruption as a recurring operational risk rather than a rare exception. When Soekarno-Hatta closes, guests arriving or departing by air face sudden itinerary changes, and the backlog of rescheduled flights can stretch disruption across multiple days even after airspace reopens. Practical steps include keeping a clear, up-to-date cancellation and rebooking policy that guests can find quickly, maintaining direct contact details for guests in transit, and monitoring official updates from Indonesia's Directorate General of Civil Aviation and BNPB in real time. Coastal properties in Banten and Lampung should also have a simple, written tsunami-preparedness protocol visible to guests, particularly during periods when Anak Krakatau is at elevated alert.
This post draws on reporting first published by Kurdistan24, which cited original coverage from Agence France-Presse, the Associated Press, and Indonesia's state news agency ANTARA.
First reported by kurdistan24.net.