Kualanamu Airport Shut Briefly as Sinabung Ash Cloud Spreads
Mount Sinabung's eruption on Monday, September 1, 2026 sent volcanic ash across North Sumatra and forced a temporary closure of Kualanamu International Airport in Deli Serdang regency, roughly 100 kilometres from the volcano. The disruption was swift: state-owned air navigation provider AirNav Indonesia issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) covering the aerodrome from 10:50 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. on Monday, with authorities stressing that the closure would remain dynamic, adjusting in real time to Sinabung's evolving activity.
Flight Cancellations and Ongoing Disruption
By Tuesday afternoon, at least 21 flights to and from Kualanamu had been cancelled since the eruption began. A number of additional services faced delays or schedule changes as both domestic and international carriers responded to ash coverage across the region. PT Angkasa Pura Aviasi corporate affairs manager Mohamad Hikmat Hidayat confirmed the scope of the disruption in a written statement, noting that flight safety was the primary driver of the temporary closure. The airport's acting director of operations and services, Dedy Sri Cahyono, said coordination with all relevant parties was ongoing to return operations to normal as quickly as conditions allowed.
Evacuations and Ground-Level Impact
Beyond the airport, thousands of residents were evacuated from areas near the volcano. Prior to the eruption, the Mount Sinabung Monitoring Post had raised the volcano's status to Level II Waspada, an advisory level indicating heightened volcanic activity, and officials had posted warnings urging both residents and tourists to keep clear of the mountain in Karo regency. The situation underscored how quickly Sinabung, one of Indonesia's most persistently active volcanoes, can shift from advisory status to full eruption.
Traveler Guidance
Anyone with flights through Kualanamu in the days following the eruption should check directly with their carrier before heading to the airport. Because the aerodrome closure was described as dynamic rather than fixed, schedules could change with little notice depending on ash dispersal patterns. Travelers planning to visit the Karo highlands or the area around Berastagi should monitor official volcanic activity updates before making the journey, as exclusion zones around Sinabung can expand rapidly.
Why it matters for hosts
Independent accommodation operators in and around Medan, Berastagi, and the broader Karo regency should prepare for the possibility of last-minute cancellations whenever Sinabung's alert level rises. Keeping a clear, up-to-date cancellation and rebooking policy that explicitly references natural disaster disruptions will protect both guests and the business. It is also worth maintaining direct communication channels with guests who have upcoming bookings, so that if flights are cancelled or roads to highland areas are closed, you can reach them quickly with options rather than waiting for them to find out through third parties. Proactive communication during volcanic events builds the kind of trust that leads to guests rebooking once conditions normalise.
The details in this post were first reported by The Jakarta Post, written by Apriadi Gunawan and published on September 2, 2026.
First reported by thejakartapost.com.