Indonesia Extends Airport Closures as Volcano Disruptions Linger

Anak Krakatau volcano erupted at 3:53 a.m. Sunday in Indonesia's Sunda Strait, triggering the closure of Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and shutting airspace over eight airports.

• 467 flights and roughly 150,000 passengers were affected at Soekarno-Hatta by Sunday evening.
• Two ash plumes reached 20,000 feet and 50,000 feet, spreading over Jakarta, Banten, Lampung and the Indian Ocean.
• No casualties were reported and no evacuation order was issued; the nearest settlement is 10 miles away.
• International routes to Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, Amsterdam, Seoul, Doha and Kuala Lumpur were disrupted.

Why it matters: Soekarno-Hatta is Indonesia's busiest airport; a prolonged closure ripples through aircraft rotations, fleet availability and terminal capacity across the country.

• Activity at Anak Krakatau has intensified since July; Sunday's eruption was the strongest in that period, according to Lana Saria, head of Indonesia's Geological Agency.
• Saria said repeated eruptions signal a continued magma and gas supply below the volcano, but officials cannot predict a larger event.

How 28 sources split on this story

What’s next: Indonesia's Geological Agency continues monitoring all data — not just eruption frequency or ash column height.

• Authorities warn of cascading flight schedule disruptions as airlines work to restore normal operations.
• Will activity escalate to a larger eruption, as it did in 2018 when a collapse triggered a tsunami killing at least 430 people?
• How long will airspace restrictions remain in place across the eight affected airports?