Seven Indonesian airports, including two serving Jakarta, remained closed on Monday after volcanic ash from Mount Anak Krakatau disrupted air travel, affecting more than 270,000 passengers.
The transport ministry said about 2,300 flights had been delayed, diverted or cancelled since the volcano began erupting late Friday.
Anak Krakatau, located between the islands of Java and Sumatra, has blanketed Jakarta and surrounding areas with volcanic ash, prompting authorities to shut airports over safety concerns.
Jakarta’s main airport, Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in neighbouring Tangerang, was scheduled to remain closed until 6 p.m. local time on Monday, alongside six other airports. Another airport in South Sumatra had reopened.
Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said authorities could not determine when the disruption would end because of changing weather conditions.
“We cannot ascertain when this will end due to the dynamic weather,” Purwagandhi said in a statement.
At Soekarno-Hatta Airport on Monday, passengers crowded around information boards searching for updates on their flights, while some slept on benches as the disruption continued.
Carlos Zabala, 24, who was travelling to his native Spain after a holiday, said his flight had been repeatedly delayed and criticised the lack of clear information from operators.
“All we have to do is wait, and wait, and wait,” he said.
President Prabowo Subianto chaired a virtual meeting on Monday with officials to discuss the volcanic eruption, as well as an August 15 earthquake that killed more than 130 people in eastern Indonesia and ongoing forest fires.
Prabowo said Indonesia needed to significantly increase its disaster mitigation budget because of its vulnerability to natural disasters.
“This is our destiny, a country located in the ring of fire,” he said, adding that more helicopters and water pumps were needed to strengthen disaster response.
“For the future, we will take anticipatory steps.”
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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