Jakarta Airports Reopen After Anak Krakatau Ash Closes Region for Two Days
Flights in and out of Jakarta are moving again after one of the most disruptive volcanic events to hit Indonesian aviation in recent years. Ash from the eruption of Anak Krakatau, the active volcanic island sitting in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, forced a two-day shutdown that grounded close to 3,000 flights and left roughly 341,000 passengers stranded or rerouted.
What Happened and When
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, both serving Jakarta, along with Husein Sastranegara Airport in Bandung and two smaller airports in Banten province, all reopened just after midnight on Tuesday, September 9, 2026. Transportation Minister Dudy Purwagandhi announced the reopening, citing the need for a cautious approach given that wind direction remained highly dynamic and ash could still shift toward airport zones.
Three airports, including Radin Inten II Airport in Lampung on the southern tip of Sumatra, stayed closed until 10 a.m. even after conditions improved, to allow time for inspecting and cleaning runways, taxiways, and aircraft surfaces that may have been exposed to ash. Atung Bungsu Airport in Pagar Alam, South Sumatra, had already resumed operations the previous morning.
Of the nearly 2,961 disrupted flights, 622 were international services. The Indonesian government also authorized schools in ash-affected areas to shift temporarily to online learning.
About Anak Krakatau
Anak Krakatau, whose name translates as "child of Krakatau," is the geological successor to the volcano responsible for the catastrophic 1883 eruption that triggered a period of global cooling. The island had been at Indonesia's second-highest alert level since July, with authorities advising residents, tourists, and fishermen to stay at least 3 kilometers from the active crater.
The most recent eruptive phase, marked by lava fountains and loud booms, ended on Sunday, but the volcano remained active into Tuesday morning, with eruptions recorded at 5:08 a.m. and 5:34 a.m. The height of the ash column during those events could not be observed. The volcano's 2018 eruption triggered an underwater landslide and a resulting tsunami that killed at least 430 people across Sumatra and Java.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire and hosts more than 120 active volcanoes, making eruption-related disruptions a recurring operational reality for anyone doing business in the archipelago.
Why It Matters for Hosts
Independent accommodation operators in Jakarta, Bandung, and the broader West Java and Banten regions should treat volcanic disruption as a foreseeable, not exceptional, risk. A two-day airport closure affecting 341,000 passengers means a significant wave of last-minute cancellations, extended stays, and stranded guests arriving late or not at all. Hosts who have a clear, written volcanic-disruption policy, including flexible rebooking windows and a direct communication channel to guests in transit, will manage those situations far better than those who rely on standard cancellation terms. It is also worth reviewing how your property appears across booking platforms during a closure: keeping availability calendars accurate and messaging guests proactively can protect your reputation even when circumstances are entirely outside your control. This post is published by the Qontaktly travel blog.
The details in this post were first reported by Niniek Karmini and Edna Tarigan of the Associated Press, as published on WFTV on September 7, 2026.
First reported by wftv.com.