Anak Krakatau paralyses Indonesian air travel: volcanic ash grounds airports nationwide
Nature reminds us of its power suddenly and ruthlessly, turning modern aviation hubs into empty terminals. Volcanic ash is one of the most insidious threats to aviation – invisible to the eye but lethal to turbine engines. When the elements take over, even the most technologically advanced airports are rendered helpless, and tens of thousands of passengers are forced to change their plans on the spot.
On Monday, Indonesia closed airports across the country because volcanic ash from Mount Anak Krakatau blanketed flight paths, paralysing Jakarta’s Soekarno Hatta Airport and leaving over 340,000 passengers stranded, according to Indonesia’s Ministry of Transportation. Officials did not specify when the affected airports would resume operations. At Semarang Airport in Central Java, display boards showed all flights to Jakarta cancelled because ash had made the airspace unsafe.
Mount Anak Krakatau had been erupting continuously for about 25 hours before switching to intermittent bursts. Although activity appears to be subsiding, ash continues to disrupt flights. The resumption of services depends on assessments of volcanic activity and wind conditions, as well as decisions by airport and government officials. The disruptions affected all Indonesian islands, forcing travellers to improvise their journeys at the last minute.
“Actually, we were supposed to fly to Jakarta this morning on a direct flight from Denpasar to Jakarta, but the flight was cancelled, and we just can’t manage to first have a layover in Balikpapan and then travel here. From here we’ll take a train. So we’ll depart at 10:40 and arrive tomorrow morning around four or five,” said one traveller.
As reported by CCTV+, Anak Krakatau, located in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, has erupted repeatedly in recent years. Its partial collapse in 2018 triggered a tsunami that killed more than 400 people. The current eruption, though less destructive, has once again exposed the vulnerability of aviation infrastructure to natural forces and underscored the need for constant monitoring of volcanic activity in the region.
