JAKARTA: Volcanic ash from Mount Anak Krakatau continued to disrupt air travel across parts of Indonesia for a second day on Monday, affecting eight airports, with more than 240 flights disrupted and nearly 30,000 passengers affected at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport alone.
As of 6.30 am on Monday, a total of 243 flights and 29,619 passengers were affected at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, comprising 184 domestic flights, 54 international flights and five cargo flights.
The airport’s Assistant Deputy for Communication and Legal Affairs Yudistiawan said in a statement that the disruptions included cancellations, delays and diversions to other airports.
He said the airport’s temporary closure had been extended until 6 pm on Monday following indications of volcanic ash from Anak Krakatau, in accordance with the prevailing Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM).
“We understand that this situation has affected passengers’ journeys. Since the start of the temporary closure, we have focused on ensuring that passengers’ needs continue to be met, from providing food and rest areas to arranging alternative ground transportation,” he said.
Yudistiawan said airport operator InJourney Airports had also provided free bus services from Soekarno-Hatta to Yogyakarta, Solo, Semarang and Surabaya.
Affected passengers may register for the services at designated counters in the terminals.
Soekarno-Hatta is among eight airports affected by the volcanic ash.
The others are Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta, Radin Inten II Airport in Lampung, Husein Sastranegara Airport in Bandung, Budiarto Airport in Tangerang, Pondok Cabe Airport in South Tangerang, Taufik Kiemas Airport in Pesisir Barat, Lampung, and Atung Bungsu Airport in Pagar Alam, South Sumatra.
Amid the continued disruption, Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said authorities were closely monitoring the spread of volcanic ash and would allow affected airports to resume operations only when conditions were confirmed to be safe.
“Safety is our priority. We are monitoring the latest developments based on information from BMKG (Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency), so we cannot yet determine when this will end because the weather is too dynamic,” he said in a statement.
Dudy said the uncertainty was partly due to rapidly changing wind directions at different altitudes.
Paper tests were being conducted every 30 minutes at all affected airports to determine whether the volcanic ash was spreading or receding.
Once conditions returned to normal and the airports were cleared to reopen, aircraft would have to be inspected to ensure that no volcanic ash had entered their engines before operations resumed, he said.
