Story perspectives

Jakarta Airport Closes as Anak Krakatau Erupts

9/6/2026

Summary

Anak Krakatau Disrupts

Anak Krakatau erupted, forcing the closure of Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
Volcanic ash drifted over Jakarta and Lampung, prompting a three-kilometre safety exclusion zone around the crater.
The airport halted operations from 5:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., affecting 209 flights and 22,800 passengers.
Singapore Airlines cancelled its Jakarta service and Qantas dropped four Sydney-Jakarta flights on Sunday.
Ash plumes rose to 6,000 m over Java and 15,000 m over Sumatra.

Summary

BNPB Cloud-Seeds

BNPB announced a cloud-seeding operation to rain out volcanic ash from the atmosphere.
Bandar Lampung mayor Eva Dwiana ordered water trucks to spray main roads, reducing ash suspension.
Geological Agency head Lana Saria warned that ash direction is unpredictable and urged reliance on transport authority guidance.
AirAsia Indonesia acting CEO Achmad Sadikin said several flights were cancelled or rescheduled because of the ash.

History

Historical Context

In April 2010 the eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull forced about 20 European countries to close airspace, grounding roughly 10 million travelers and prompting the London Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre to issue ash-clearance guidance. Those procedures shape Indonesia’s BNPB, mayor Eva Dwiana and AirAsia’s Achmad Sadikin response to the 2024 Anak Krakatau ash cloud that halted Soekarno-Hatta Airport.

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Anak Krakatau Disrupts

Anak Krakatau erupted, forcing the closure of Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
Volcanic ash drifted over Jakarta and Lampung, prompting a three-kilometre safety exclusion zone around the crater.
The airport halted operations from 5:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., affecting 209 flights and 22,800 passengers.
Singapore Airlines cancelled its Jakarta service and Qantas dropped four Sydney-Jakarta flights on Sunday.
Ash plumes rose to 6,000 m over Java and 15,000 m over Sumatra.

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