Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport became the first to be closed down on Sunday morning due to the volcanic ash from the Anak Krakatau.
Transport minister Dudy Purwagandhi stated that so far 467 flights have been affected and requested airlines to consider diverting some of them to other airports.
The volcano began to erupt on the late Friday night and triggered off a number of earthquakes while lava and explosive sounds continued to echo throughout the area. Authorities added that there had been two more eruptions on Sunday morning.
EPA Mount Anak Krakatau spewing volcanic materials into the air following an eruption in Sunda Strait, Indonesia EPA
Anak Krakatau latest eruption: Flights canceled, some schools closed
The transport ministry reported that the temporary airport closure mostly impacted the flights departing to and arriving from Singapore with other international destinations also affected such as Doha, Sydney and Kuala Lumpur.
Purwagandhi explained that the decision to further close other airports was taken after tests revealed traces of volcanic ashes blowing toward West Java.
He called on the airlines to expedite the processing of refunds for the flights disrupted by the eruptions and requested them to inform their passengers with scheduled departures to avoid congestion.
According to Indonesia’s Meteorology and Climate Agency, or BMKG, the ashes climbed as high as 20,000ft (6,000m) on Java and 50,000ft (15,000m) on the Sumatra side over the weekend.
