Around 170,000 passengers have been stranded after Indonesian authorities temporarily suspended operations at eight airports following a volcanic eruption at Anak Krakatau, up from 150,000 passengers and six airports closed earlier Sunday. Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport was the first to close Sunday morning after ash from the volcano was detected in nearby airspace. The transport ministry said 1,558 flights have been delayed with airports remaining closed until 09:00 local time on Monday morning.
Anak Krakatau, located in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, began erupting late Friday night with continuous seismic activity, lava fountains, and booming sounds. Two additional eruptions occurred early Sunday. Indonesia's meteorological agency reported ash reached 20,000 feet on the east side toward Java and 50,000 feet west toward Sumatra. Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said the decision to temporarily close more airports was made after tests found that volcanic ash had spread towards West Java. The suspensions mainly affected flights to and from Singapore and other international routes including Doha, Sydney and Kuala Lumpur.
Purwagandhi urged airlines to speed up processes for refunding tickets for passengers affected by flight cancellations and to provide timely information to those with upcoming flights to avoid overcrowding at airports. The health minister urged residents in affected areas to stay indoors and wear face masks to protect against respiratory, eye, and skin hazards. Several schools canceled activities Saturday after students and residents reported eye irritation from the ash.
One resident, Aldi Candra Prayogi, told local newspaper Kompas the dust is so thick that he has to sweep the front yard of his house every five minutes. He said he felt since Friday evening it felt like small grains of sand had gotten into his eyes and that he needs to use eye drops to ease the irritation. Authorities confirmed no tsunami warning has been issued. Anak Krakatau, which means Child of Krakatoa, has been sporadically active since emerging from the sea in the early 20th century in the caldera formed by the 1883 Mount Krakatoa eruption. The volcano collapsed in December 2018, triggering a tsunami that killed over 400 people and displaced thousands more on the coastlines of Sumatra and Java.