Seven Indonesian airports, including two serving Jakarta, remained closed yesterday because of volcanic ash from eruptions at Mount Anak Krakatau as around 341,000 travellers were affected by flight cancellations and delays, officials said.
Ash from Anak Krakatau, which sits halfway between Java and Sumatra islands, has blanketed Jakarta and several surrounding areas since it erupted late on Friday, leading to the closure of the airports for safety reasons.
Around 341,000 people have been affected by the delay, diversion, or cancellation of 2,961 flights, said Indonesia’s chief infrastructure minister, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono.
Jakarta’s main airport, Soekarno-Hatta remained closed with six other airports yesterday, Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said.
Dudy said the closure was extended to give the airport time to clean the runway, taxiway and apron, and give airline operators time to prepare their fleets.
“We want to ensure that the volcanic ash is moving away from the airports located around Mount Anak Krakatau,” he said.
Yesterday, passengers at Soekarno-Hatta, which is located in the city of Tangerang, adjacent to Jakarta, were frantically looking for the status of their flights on the information boards.
Some were sleeping on benches.
Carlos Zabala, 24, was travelling to his native Spain after a vacation when he learned his flight was repeatedly delayed.
Expressing his frustration, he blamed operators for the lack of clarity.
“All we have to do is wait, and wait, and wait,” he said.
President Prabowo Subianto chaired a virtual meeting yesterday with authorities on the eruption, as well as an August 15 earthquake that killed more than 130 people in eastern Indonesia and the ongoing forest fires, saying that the disaster mitigation budget needed to rise significantly.
“This is our destiny, a country located in the ring of fire,” he said, adding that more helicopters and water pumps are needed to mitigate disasters.
“For the future, we will take anticipatory steps.”
At night, the lava from Anak Krakatau lit the sky red as it erupted. Residents were sweeping the dusty floors of their homes and the blackened walls of a nearby mosque, Reuters photographs showed.
Anak Krakatau is one of about 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia.
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