Thai Airways has cancelled its Bangkok-Jakarta services after volcanic ash from Mount Anak Krakatau forced eight Indonesian airports to close. The airline scrapped TG433 from Bangkok and the return flight TG434 from Jakarta, citing passenger and aviation safety.
TG433’s schedule listed an 8am departure from Bangkok, while TG434 should have left Jakarta at 12.35pm. Ash has blanketed Jakarta and surrounding areas since the volcano erupted late on Friday.
InJourney Airports extended the shutdown of the four main airports until 6pm local time on Monday. The company had previously planned to reopen them at 9am.
The initial closure list covered Soekarno-Hatta, Halim Perdanakusuma, Radin Inten II, Husein Sastranegara, Budiarto, Pondok Cabe, Muhammad Taufiq Kiemas and Atung Bungsu airports. Atung Bungsu resumed operations at 9am on Monday, while the other seven remained closed until 6pm.
Flight disruptions had hit about 2,300 services and 270,337 passengers by 9am on Monday, according to Indonesia’s Transport Ministry. The disruption began on September 5.
Airlines cancelled or delayed more than 240 domestic and international flights on Monday morning alone. Soekarno-Hatta Airport reported that the disruption hit nearly 30,000 passengers during that period.
Anak Krakatau sits in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. Indonesia’s Geological Agency detected a 30-second eruption at 3.53am on Sunday, followed by a second, shorter eruption about three hours later.
Volcanic ash rose to 6,000 metres on the Java side of the volcano. Authorities also detected a plume reaching up to 15,000 metres over the Sumatra side and parts of Banten province.
Volcanic ash poses a serious risk to aircraft because it can damage jet engines and reduce visibility. Paper tests at several airports confirmed the presence of ash at 7am on Monday.
Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said officials could not predict when the airports would resume operations because weather conditions continued to change.
Singapore Airlines cancelled services between Singapore and Jakarta over the weekend and into Monday. AirAsia also cancelled or rescheduled several flights to and from Jakarta and advised passengers to check their flight status before travelling.
Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport remained open, although the Jakarta disruption affected its connecting routes. Airlines cancelled five inbound flights from Jakarta and cancelled or delayed 12 departures to Jakarta and Halim Perdanakusuma. Airport communications head Gede Eka Sandi Asmadi said the airport continued to operate normally overall.
The government allowed schools in areas under heavy ashfall to switch temporarily to online learning. Indonesia’s disaster agency also urged residents to wear masks outdoors to avoid inhaling volcanic ash.
National disaster authorities said the eruption posed no immediate tsunami threat to coastal communities. Anak Krakatau emerged from the sea inside the caldera left by the 1883 Krakatoa eruption. Another eruption in 2018 caused part of the crater to collapse, triggering a tsunami that killed at least 430 people.
The Transport Ministry has designated Kertajati, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Semarang and Solo as alternative airports for diverted flights. Transport agencies have also arranged buses and trains for passengers transferred to other airports.
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