Sunday 06 / September / 2026
Jakarta: Hundreds of flights were cancelled at Jakarta's international airport after Indonesia's Anak Krakatau volcano erupted early Sunday morning, more than 150 kilometres (93 miles) away.
The volcano produced a fountain of lava and loud sounds heard up to 700 kilometres away, Indonesia's geological agency said in a statement.
The cloud of ash was detected up to a height of 6,000 meters (20,000 feet) on the Java side of the volcano and a plume of up to 15,000 meters on the Sumatra side and some parts of Banten province in Java, the meteorological agency BMKG posted on its website.
No incidents of casualties were reported, and no evacuation orders were issued.
The closest township is more than 16 kilometers away, but the authorities warned residents and visitors to stay at least 3 kilometers from the volcano's active crater.
Two new eruptions were recorded on Sunday, the volcanology agency warned.
Indonesia cancels flights
The ash spread across parts of the capital Jakarta and Lampung province on the southern tip of Sumatra island, Indonesia's Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation said.
Authorities have suspended operations at six airports following eruptions from Mount Anak Krakatoa, the ministry said.
"The Husein Sastranegara Airport in Bandung showed indications of being affected. Consequently, we have declared... the airport closed to flights," Dudy Purwagandhi told a press conference Sunday, mentioning the latest airport to be shuttered.
Operations at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, the country's largest and in the capital, Jakarta, were suspended earlier.
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport posted on Instagram that it had suspended flight operations until 9:30 a.m. (0230 GMT) due to volcanic ash.
"Due to increased activity from the Mount Anak Krakatau eruption, Soekarno-Hatta International Airport has temporarily suspended flight operations from 5:30 a.m. to 9.30 a.m.," the airport said.
The disruption of flight operations has impacted more than 22,000 passengers, the transport ministry said in a statement, adding that 209 flights were affected, particularly to and from Singapore.
Anak Krakatau lies in the middle between Java and Sumatra in Indonesia's vast island chain, which sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are frequent.
Anak Krakatau means "Child of Krakatau." The volcano is the offspring of the famous Krakatau, whose monumental eruption in 1883 triggered a period of global cooling.
