Indonesia halts Jakarta, Lampung flights to volcano eruption | TodayNews

(Bloomberg) — Indonesia suspended flights at airports in Jakarta and Lampung on Sunday after volcanic ash from Mount Anak Krakatau spread across parts of Java and Sumatra, state airport operator InJourney Airports said.

The shutdown at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, which serves Jakarta, was extended until 1:30 p.m. Radin Inten II International Airport in Lampung stopped operations until 8:00 AM.

Jakarta’s Halim Perdanakusuma Airport was closed until 10 a.m., CNN Indonesia reported. The closures also affected operations at Yogyakarta International, Minangkabau International in West Sumatra and Supadio International in West Kalimantan as flight schedules were adjusted, InJourney said on its social media account.

As many as 209 flights and 22,798 passengers were affected by the closure at Soekarno-Hatta, the Transport Ministry’s Director General of Civil Aviation Lukman F. Laisa said in a statement. Sixteen international flights were cancelled, seven were delayed and five were rescheduled to Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, Seoul, Doha, Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur, it said.

Anak Krakatau, located in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra, has been active since early July, with eruptions intensifying on Friday evening, Kompas.com reported. Ash was detected over parts of Jakarta, Banten and West Java at 9 a.m. Sunday, as well as in areas around Lampung, Bengkulu and South Sumatra, according to the weather agency’s website.

Garuda Indonesia said it is adjusting several flights to and from Jakarta following the temporary closure of Soekarno-Hatta International.

“A number of AirAsia flights to and from Jakarta have been canceled or rescheduled,” AirAsia Indonesia acting CEO Captain Achmad Sadikin said in a statement. “The volcanic ash situation has also necessitated operational adjustments to selected AirAsia services whose flight routes may be affected,” he said, adding that the airline had informed affected guests of their flight status and recovery options.

Singapore Airlines said in a statement on Saturday that it canceled two flights and rescheduled two more, while Cathay Pacific waived rebooking, rerouting and refund fees for affected passengers.

A flank collapse at Anak Krakatau likely triggered the 2018 tsunami that killed more than 400 people and injured more than 1,000 residents and vacationers in Lampung and Banten.

–With help from Danny Lee.

(Update with news of further closures, airline comment from third paragraph.)

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