Seven Airports Down, 270,000 Travelers Waiting
Anak Krakatau began erupting late on Friday, September 5, 2026, and by Monday the fallout was severe: seven Indonesian airports remained closed, more than 2,300 flights had been delayed, diverted, or canceled, and over 270,000 travelers were caught in the disruption. The two airports serving Jakarta, including the main Soekarno-Hatta International in Tangerang, were among those shut. One airport in South Sumatra had been reopened by Monday, but Jakarta's main hub was not expected to resume operations until at least 6 p.m. local time that day.
The situation at Soekarno-Hatta was chaotic. Passengers scanned departure boards for updates that rarely came, and some resorted to sleeping on terminal benches. The frustration was palpable. One stranded traveler, a 24-year-old Spanish national named Carlos Zabala who had been on vacation, told Reuters the experience amounted to endless waiting with little communication from operators.
Why the Ash Is So Dangerous
Anak Krakatau sits in the Sunda Strait, roughly midway between Java and Sumatra, and is one of approximately 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia. The country straddles the Pacific Ring of Fire, a seismically volatile belt where tectonic plates collide. The volcano's name translates to "child of Krakatau," a reference to the catastrophic 1883 eruption of its predecessor that killed more than 36,000 people and triggered devastating tsunamis. A 2018 eruption at Anak Krakatau itself caused a tsunami that killed more than 400 people.
The current eruption has sent ash towers as high as 20,000 feet on the Java side and up to 50,000 feet on the Sumatra side, according to Indonesia's meteorological agency BMKG. Renowned volcano expert Surono told Reuters that the ash, laden with sulphur and silica, poses a direct threat to aircraft engines, and low visibility compounds the risk. He described this eruption as unusual even by Anak Krakatau's standards.
The volcano monitoring agency warned on Monday that further eruptions remain highly probable. Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi acknowledged the uncertainty plainly: "We cannot ascertain when this will end due to the dynamic weather."
Health and Education Impacts on the Ground
Beyond the airports, ash has blanketed Jakarta and surrounding areas. Residents have been sweeping ash from homes and public buildings. Health authorities have advised people to wear masks outdoors. In Jakarta and Lampung, schools have shifted to remote learning to protect students from ash inhalation, according to state news agency Antara. President Prabowo Subianto chaired a virtual emergency meeting on Monday covering the eruption alongside an August 15 earthquake that killed more than 130 people in eastern Indonesia and ongoing forest fires, calling for a significant increase in the national disaster mitigation budget.
Why It Matters for Hosts
Independent accommodation operators across the Jakarta, Banten, and Lampung regions should treat this disruption as a prompt to build a clear guest communication protocol for natural disasters. Travelers arriving during or after a volcanic event will have experienced delays, rerouting, and poor information from airlines. A host who proactively contacts incoming guests with updated arrival guidance, local health advisories such as mask requirements, and flexible check-in windows will stand out sharply from operators who stay silent. It is also worth reviewing cancellation and rebooking terms now, before the next eruption cycle, so that both guests and the property are protected without disputes.
Details in this post were first reported by Reuters, as published by Astro AWANI on September 7, 2026.
First reported by international.astroawani.com.