Anak Krakatau Ash Closes Indonesian Airports
Tuesday, 2026/09/08220 words3 minutes611 reads
Indonesia closed eight airports after Anak Krakatau sent volcanic ash into airspace near Jakarta. Soekarno-Hatta was the first to close on Sunday. Ash can affect aircraft operations, so authorities used monitoring before deciding whether flights could continue.
The BBC reported that more than 150,000 passengers and 712 flights had been affected when it published its report. Those totals describe a fast-changing disruption, not a final count. Indonesia's transport ministry asked airlines to consider diversions, give passengers prompt information and process refunds. Routes involving Singapore, Doha, Sydney and Kuala Lumpur were among those affected.
BMKG said the ash plume extended east to 20,000 feet, about 6,000 metres, and west to 50,000 feet, about 15,000 metres. It continued monitoring effects on the atmosphere, aviation and sea. Authorities said the activity did not trigger a tsunami warning, but health officials advised residents to limit exposure and wear masks because ash may irritate eyes, skin and the respiratory system.
Anak Krakatau lies in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. It has been active at intervals since emerging from the sea in the early 1900s, after the 1883 Krakatoa eruption. Its 2018 collapse caused a tsunami that killed more than 400 people. That history explains monitoring, but not every eruption causes a tsunami. For travellers, immediate issue was ash-related safety and changing flight information.
