Anak Krakatau volcano erupted early Sunday in Indonesia, leading to the suspension of all flights at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and causing disruptions at other domestic airports due to the scattering of volcanic ash over parts of western Indonesia.
Situated in Indonesia’s Sunda Strait between the primary Java and Sumatra islands, the volcanic island had displayed signs of activity since Friday. It erupted for 30 seconds at 3:53 a.m. local time on Sunday and again for 16 seconds about three hours later, according to Indonesia’s Geological Agency. Surveillance camera footage captured lava flares emanating from the volcano.
No casualties were recorded, and no evacuation directives were issued as the nearest settlement is more than 16 kilometers away. However, authorities cautioned residents and visitors to maintain a minimum distance of three kilometers from the active crater.
The volcanic ash dispersed across Jakarta and Lampung province in Sumatra’s southern tip, as reported by Indonesia’s Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation.
AirNav Indonesia enforced the closure of airspace around Soekarno-Hatta and Halim Perdanakusuma airports in Jakarta, along with six other airports, including Radin Inten II airport in Lampung, due to the presence of volcanic ash.
The closure of eight airports impacted 170,000 passengers from 1,558 canceled flights by Sunday evening, with 963 flights affected at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta airport alone. All eight airports were instructed to remain closed until 8:59 a.m. on Monday.
Diego Urdiales, a Spanish tourist intending to return to Madrid, expressed inconvenience, stating the lack of updates from the airline. Michele Gouw, an Indonesian passenger, acknowledged the situation as a natural disaster and emphasized the need to comply with airline and airport directives.
Indonesia’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation assured close monitoring of the eruption’s effects on air travel and collaborated with various entities such as airlines, airport operators, air navigation services, and the meteorology agency. Safety remained a top priority in operational decisions, as emphasized by Lukman F. Laisa, director general of civil aviation at the Ministry of Transportation.
Indonesia’s volcanology agency and the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in Australia identified two ash clouds through satellite imagery, one rising to 6,100 meters and drifting northeast over several regions, and a second cloud reaching 15,200 meters and spreading over additional provinces and water bodies.
Lana Saria, head of Indonesia’s Geological Agency, highlighted increased activity at Anak Krakatau since July, with the recent eruption being the most robust during this period. The continuous eruptions indicated a sustained supply of magma and volcanic gases beneath the volcano, although the possibility of a larger eruption remained uncertain.
Saria emphasized ongoing assessments based on comprehensive monitoring data to evaluate the volcano’s development, considering various hazards such as volcanic ash, gas concentrations, and ejecting materials around the crater area.
Anak Krakatau, translating to “child of Krakatau,” emerged from the renowned Krakatau, whose massive 1883 eruption triggered a global cooling phase. The 2018 eruption of Anak Krakatau resulted in a tsunami that claimed at least 430 lives in Sumatra and Java, attributed to volcanic activity triggering an underwater landslide and the collapse of a significant portion of Anak Krakatau. Subsequently, the island’s size was substantially reduced following the eruption.