As the volcano at Mount Anak Krakatoa in Indonesia increased in activity, authorities toed the line by shutting down operations at the nation’s main international airport and seven other airports leaving around 170,000 passengers from affected countries stranded in Indonesia on Sunday.
Saturday saw the volcano blow, tossing volcanic ash into the air, lava and booming noises as far as hundreds, possibly even thousands, of kilometres away. The Indonesian Volcanology and Geological Magistracy (BVGM) reported two more eruptions on Sunday and a warning of further volcanic activity in Indonesia.
Airspace above Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (LNGB) was blanketed with ash from Mount Anak Krakatoa triggering a halt to flights at the biggest international airport. This morning, the hanging continued until 8:59 am on Monday after the eruption picked up in activity.
Seven other airports, such as Husein Sastranegara Airport, Bandung, and Bandar Lampung-on-Sumatra’s Radin Inten II Airport, also closed their doors.
The Transportation Ministry counts 1,558 flights in the eight airports that were affected as delays affecting some 170,000 passengers. Over 900 of the flights hit were to arrive or depart from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
All of this could have been a major disruption for travellers, as authorities are attempting to manage the situation and limit the effects of the closure of the airport.
The transportation minister Dudy Purwagandhi said several airports such as in Semarang and Surabaya were already ready as places to land flights impacted by the clusters of cancellations.
The emergency is ongoing as the movement of volcanic ash and the activity of Mount Anak Krakatoa are being monitored for when they can be considered for normal airport operations.