Indonesia’s Soekarno-Hatta international airport has extended its suspension of flight operations until 1.30pm (2.30pm, Singapore time) on Sunday (Sep 6) due to volcanic ash from the ongoing eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau, Jakarta’s main airport posted on Instagram.
The suspension, extending a halt that had been scheduled until 5.30am (6.30am, Singapore time), has affected 209 flights, including several international flights, Indonesia’s transportation ministry said.International flights scheduled for Sunday that were delayed or cancelled include some to or from Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Doha, according to the airport’s website.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) was among the airlines affected. The carrier cancelled two flights to and from Jakarta on Saturday. A third Jakarta-bound SIA flight that was originally scheduled for Saturday night was rescheduled to Sunday afternoon, while another flight that had been scheduled to depart from Jakarta to Singapore on Sunday morning was also delayed until 3.50pm.
“As the situation remains fluid, other SIA flights between Singapore and Indonesia may be affected,” said the carrier.
Passengers are advised to check SIA’s flight status page for the latest information on their flights.Mount Anak Krakatau has been erupting since late on Friday, with volcanic ash detected in the airport early on Sunday, the ministry said in a statement.
Ash was identified as high as 6,000 metres on the Java side of the volcano and a plume of up to 15,000 metres on the Sumatra side and some parts of Banten province in Java, the meteorological agency BMKG posted on its website.
Anak Krakatau is roughly halfway between Java and Sumatra in Indonesia’s vast island chain, which sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are frequent.
Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency, BNPB, “urges the public to remain calm while increasing vigilance. In the event of ashfall, people are advised to wear masks and eye protection, reduce outdoor activities, cover water sources and exercise caution when driving, as volcanic ash can reduce visibility,” said spokesperson Berton Panjaitan.
Several schools cancelled activities on Saturday with students and residents suffering eye irritation from the ash, while fishermen cancelled their fishing trips due to the eruption, local media outlet Kompas reported.The disaster mitigation agency said on Saturday there was no imminent risk of tsunami from the volcano.
A tsunami in 2018 caused by Anak Krakatau eruptions killed hundreds and injured hundreds more on Java and Sumatra.
Anak Krakatau, which means child of Krakatau, emerged a century ago from the area once occupied by Krakatau, then known as Krakatoa. Krakatoa was destroyed in 1883, when its massive eruptions killed more than 36,000 people in a series of tsunamis
