Anak Krakatau Eruption Closes Seven Indonesian Airports, Cancels More Than 2,300 Southeast Asia Flights
Why It MattersA prolonged ash event over Jakarta, Bali and Surabaya cuts off the region's main hubs at once, forcing airlines and charter operators to reroute or suspend flying with no reopening date.
Indonesia's Anak Krakatau erupted around September 7, sending ash plumes to roughly 50,000 feet (about 15,000 meters), the cruising altitude of commercial jets. The volcano erupted twice within 24 hours on September 6, and high-altitude winds carried the ash over southern Sumatra, western Java, Singapore and southern Peninsular Malaysia.
Seven Indonesian airports closed temporarily or suspended operations: Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International, Bali's Ngurah Rai, Yogyakarta, Sorong, Semarang, Surabaya's Juanda and Bandung. Singapore Airlines, Scoot, China Southern Airlines, XiamenAir and other carriers began cancelling flights to and from Jakarta, Bali, Yogyakarta and Surabaya on September 6. More than 2,300 flights had been cancelled across Southeast Asia as of the afternoon of September 7.
Indonesia's Geological Agency (PVMBG) said in its September 7 bulletin that the continuous eruption phase had ended, but the alert level stayed at Level III (Siaga), one notch below the highest, Level IV (Awas). Officials warned that the chance of another eruption in the short term remains high, and neither the agency nor the Ministry of Transportation gave a window for lifting the flight suspensions. Mount Semeru in Java also erupted during the same period.
Singapore Airlines offered free rerouting via Surabaya with extra Singapore–Surabaya flights, plus rebooking within seven days of the original flight or a full refund, and Scoot applied flexible rebooking and refund policies. Changi Airport saw congestion on September 7 as airlines opened rebooking windows.
