Mount Anak Krakatau Eruption Halts Jakarta Flights and Closes Schools

POLICY WIRE — Jakarta, Indonesia — A powerful eruption at Mount Anak Krakatau sent clouds of volcanic ash sweeping across western Indonesia, grounding hundreds of commercial flights at Jakarta’s primary air terminal on Sunday while disrupting local schooling and maritime transport.

Officials at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport announced via Instagram that flight departures and arrivals were grounded through 9:30 a.m. (0230 GMT) after airborne ash swept into the aviation corridor.

The ground stop, lengthened from an earlier target of 5:30 a.m., disrupted a total of 209 flights, including several international journeys, according to Indonesia’s Ministry of Transportation.

Transportation authorities said the volcano has been erupting since late Friday, with drifting ash settling over the airport complex in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Indonesia’s meteorological agency, BMKG, confirmed on its website that ash clouds rose to 20,000 feet (6,000 meters) on the Java flank, while a plume pushed up to 50,000 feet (15,000 meters) over sections of Sumatra and Banten province on Java.

Anak Krakatau is situated midway between the major islands of Java and Sumatra along the Pacific Ring of Fire, an active tectonic zone known for intense seismic and volcanic activity.

The nation’s disaster mitigation agency, BNPB, cautioned residents in surrounding areas to take protective measures against the falling debris. Spokesperson Berton Panjaitan said the agency urges the public to remain calm while increasing vigilance. In the event of ashfall, people are advised to wear masks and eye protection, reduce outdoor activities, cover water sources and exercise caution when driving, as volcanic ash can reduce visibility.

Local media outlet Kompas noted that multiple schools suspended weekend programs after students and area residents experienced eye irritation from airborne particulates, while coastal fishermen abandoned planned excursions at sea.

Disaster officials confirmed on Saturday that the current eruptive activity poses no immediate threat of generating a tsunami.

A flank collapse triggered by Anak Krakatau in 2018 unleashed a deadly tsunami that claimed hundreds of lives and injured hundreds more across Java and Sumatra.

The volcano, whose name translates to child of Krakatau, formed roughly a century ago in the caldera left by Krakatoa, the catastrophic 1883 eruption that killed over 36,000 people in massive tsunami waves.

Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)