BANGKOK, Thailand – Thai airlines have cancelled or warned of possible disruptions to flights to Jakarta following the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau in Indonesia, which has forced the temporary closure of the main airport in the Indonesian capital and stranded approximately 170,000 passengers across the archipelago. Thai Airways International cancelled four Bangkok-Jakarta flights on Sunday, 6 September, after volcanic ash was detected in the airspace around Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, prompting authorities to suspend operations at Indonesia’s busiest gateway.

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The affected services included TG433 departing Bangkok at 8am and arriving at 11.35am, TG434 departing Jakarta at 12.35pm and arriving at 4.05pm, TG435 departing Bangkok at 2.20pm and arriving at 5.55pm, and TG436 departing Jakarta at 7pm and arriving at 10.30pm. In a statement, the national carrier confirmed that affected passengers had been notified and advised all travellers to check their flight status via the airline’s mobile application and website or contact its call centres for further information and assistance.

Thai Lion Air also warned that its Bangkok Don Mueang to Jakarta service could be affected by the temporary suspension, with services SL116 from Bangkok to Jakarta on 6 September and SL117 from Jakarta to Bangkok on 7 September potentially delayed, rescheduled or cancelled depending on the situation and weather conditions. The airline urged passengers to check their flight status before travelling. AirAsia likewise confirmed that flights to and from Jakarta had been cancelled or rescheduled following the airport closure, as airlines scrambled to accommodate stranded passengers.

Mount Anak Krakatau erupted on Saturday, producing a fountain of lava and booming sounds that could be heard several hundred kilometres away, according to Indonesia’s geology agency, with two further eruptions recorded on Sunday. The suspension at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport was extended until 8.59am on Monday due to increased eruptive activity, while operations at seven other airports were also halted, including Husein Sastranegara Airport in Bandung and Radin Inten II Airport near Bandar Lampung on Sumatra.

The Indonesian Transport Ministry reported that 1,558 flights had been delayed at the eight affected airports, with about 170,000 passengers stranded, more than 900 of those flights involving Soekarno-Hatta. Several airports, including those in Semarang and Surabaya, were prepared as alternative landing sites, Transportation Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said.

Passengers faced significant disruption as they scrambled to find alternative flights. Henny Yensan, a traveller who had planned to return to her hometown with her mother, expressed disappointment after her flight was cancelled and rescheduled for Tuesday. Samuel Guiberteau, a Danone executive returning from a business trip to Lombok, searched for an alternative flight back to Jakarta but found that his Citilink option was also cancelled, leaving him with no choice but to remain in Lombok. Volcanic ash also reached Bandar Lampung at the southern tip of Sumatra, covering parked cars and roadsides, while schools across Jakarta were ordered closed on Monday with classes moving online, the city administration announced.

Anak Krakatau, meaning Child of Krakatoa, sits in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, and ships passing through the strait have been advised to exercise greater caution as volcanic activity could disrupt navigation. Vessels are prohibited from entering a three-kilometre exclusion zone around the volcano, according to local port authorities. The volcano has been sporadically active since it emerged from the sea early last century in the caldera formed by the massive 1883 eruption of Mount Krakatoa, one of the deadliest and most destructive volcanic disasters in history, which killed an estimated 35,000 people.

Indonesia’s geology agency head Lana Saria stated that seismic activity indicated the movement or release of volcanic fluids within the system, but cautioned that the timing, magnitude and nature of the next eruption could not be precisely predicted. She warned people against approaching Anak Krakatau, saying material ejected from the volcano could endanger those within the exclusion zone, though she added that the latest series of eruptions did not currently have the potential to trigger a tsunami.

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A tsunami triggered by the collapse of part of Anak Krakatau in 2018 killed 429 people and displaced thousands. Indonesia lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the movement of tectonic plates causes frequent volcanic and seismic activity, making such events a recurring challenge for the region’s aviation and disaster management systems.

-Thailand News (TN)