Jakarta's main airport and three others extended their closure to 6pm on Monday after they were forced to halt operations due to a volcanic eruption, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded.

"In connection with the increasing eruption activity of Mount Anak Krakatau, flight operations at several airports have been suspended; passengers are advised to regularly monitor their flight status with the respective airlines," airport operator Angkasa Pura said in a social media post.

Ash from Anak Krakatau, which sits ⁠halfway between Java and Sumatra islands, has blanketed Jakarta and several surrounding areas since it erupted late on Friday, leading to the closure of the airports for safety reasons.

The transport ministry said 170,000 people have been affected by flight cancellations.

"We cannot ascertain when this will end due to the dynamic weather," Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said in ⁠a statement on Monday.

The volcano monitoring agency's website showed the most recent Anak Krakatau eruption occurred Sunday at 8.23pm.

The eruptions have seen ash reach as high as 20,000 feet (6,000 metres) on the Java ⁠side of the volcano and 50,000 feet (15,000 metres) on the Sumatra side and some parts of Banten province in Java, meteorological agency BMKG posted on its website.

On Sunday, the disaster agency called for people to wear masks while travelling outdoors due to the ash.

In Jakarta and Lampung, schools will use remote learning to counter health risks for ⁠students, state news agency Antara reported.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are frequent.

Anak Krakatau, which means child of Krakatau, began emerging a century ago from the area previously occupied by Krakatau, then known as Krakatoa.

The older volcano destroyed itself in mass eruptions ⁠in 1883, which killed more than 36,000 people in a series of tsunamis. (AFP/Reuters)
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Last updated: 2026-09-07 HKT 10:51



Edited by Tony Sabine