Anak Krakatau eruption strands 340,000, closes Jakarta airports

The eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau has forced the closure of eight Indonesian airports, including Jakarta's main international hub, disrupting nearly 3,000 flights and stranding over 340,000 passengers. Operations resumed on Tuesday but flight schedules may take days to normalise, with airlines facing a backlog of grounded aircraft and passengers.

Bottom line — Mount Anak Krakatau's eruption disrupted 2,961 flights and stranded 341,000 passengers, per Indonesian officials.

Go deeper (9)

• The continuous eruption began on Friday 4 September and ended on Sunday 6 September, according to the Geological Agency at Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, as reported by ANTARA News.
• By Sunday, 1,558 flights and 170,000 passengers were affected, per Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi, as reported by ANTARA via Bali Discovery Tours.
• By Tuesday, the total had risen to 2,961 flights and 341,000 passengers, said Coordinating Minister Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, per The Straits Times and Reuters.
• Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and four other airports reopened early Tuesday after ash cleared, but 178 aircraft needed airworthiness inspections before returning to service, Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi told reporters, per Euronews.
• Anak Krakatau erupted three times on Tuesday morning, though eruptions were less powerful than before, said Lana Saria, head of the Geological Agency, per Reuters.
• Singapore Airlines added eight relief flights between Singapore and Jakarta, per The Straits Times.
• President Prabowo Subianto ordered a comprehensive disaster mitigation master plan, saying Indonesia must increase spending on preparedness because of its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, per The Straits Times.
• For Australian travellers, insurance coverage depends on when the policy was purchased relative to the known event date of 4 September, with brokers advised to check individual insurer advisories, per Insurance Business.
• The volcano remains at Alert Level III with a 3km exclusion zone; authorities said there is no tsunami threat, per The South African and Punch Newspapers.

Read the reporting