Indonesia Extends Flight Suspension at Four Airports Due to Volcanic Eruption

Jakarta, September 7 (Daily Kiran) : Indonesia has announced an extension of flight suspensions at four airports until 6 PM on Monday due to the recent eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau. Authorities reported that volcanic ash is moving toward Jakarta.

According to information shared by the Xinhua News Agency, the airport operator Angkasa Pura Indonesia confirmed that flights at Soekarno-Hatta and Halim Perdanakusuma airports in Jakarta, as well as Radin Inten II Airport in Lampung and Husein Sastranegara Airport in Bandung, will remain suspended.

The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) indicated that satellite images showed two ash plumes from the volcano moving towards Jakarta as of 6 AM on Monday.

This latest eruption comes on the heels of a weekend incident where over 1,500 flights were disrupted, affecting nearly 170,000 passengers due to ash from Anak Krakatau.

Located in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, Mount Anak Krakatau has erupted multiple times in recent years. A partial collapse of the volcano in 2018 triggered a tsunami that claimed more than 400 lives.

Last month, Mount Semeru in East Java erupted, sending ash clouds nearly 2,000 meters into the air, as reported by the Indonesian Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG). The agency observed ash plumes drifting southeast and noted a pyroclastic flow extending nearly 2 kilometers along a riverbank.

Officials have warned residents to avoid any activities within a 5-kilometer radius of the crater and a 13-kilometer stretch along the southeastern river valley.

Earlier in May, an eruption at Mount Dukono in North Maluku province resulted in three fatalities. The volcano erupted around 7:40 AM local time on May 8, sending ash clouds soaring up to 10 kilometers into the atmosphere.

Local rescue officials advised residents to refrain from any activities within a 4-kilometer radius of the crater, cautioning that volcanic mudflows could occur during rain.

Mount Dukono erupted again on May 17, producing ash that rose to 5,000 meters above its peak. Indonesia, situated on the Pacific Ocean’s “Ring of Fire,” is home to over 120 active volcanoes, making it one of the most volcanically active countries in the world.