The Anak Krakatau volcano, located 150 km from Jakarta, went off the charts late Friday, spewing lava fountains and ash that drifted into the Indonesian capital and the nearby province of Lampung.
Jakarta’s main airport, Soekarno‑Hatta, and three other airports shut down until 6 pm Monday, forcing more than 2,000 flights to be cancelled. As a result, about 270,000 passengers were left stranded, some spending nights in airport hotels, and others scrambling for refunds or alternative travel plans.
Schools in the region moved to online classes while shipping lanes in the Sunda Strait were blocked, creating a ripple effect that spilled over into the local economy.
“I was trying to get back to Jakarta from Malang and every flight got pushed back,” said a passenger named Finna. “We were all glued to the flight screens and in the end, I had to travel by train to get to my home at 3 am on Monday.
Authorities warned that the volcano’s activity remained high and ships could not enter a 3‑km exclusion zone around the crater. Despite the danger, there was no tsunami warning linked to the eruption.
The eruption reminded everyone that Indonesia sits on the Ring of Fire, a belt of volcanic and seismic activity that stretches across the Pacific. In the past, Anak Krakatau’s collapse in 2018 sent a massive tsunami that killed over 400 people.
As the volcano continues to erupt, officials are closely monitoring ash clouds that have reached up to 15,000 m above Java, while airports remain closed in hopes of a safer environment for travelers.
