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View all search resultsTravelers scramble as Anak Krakatau ash exposes gaps in contingency plans
Transportation Ministry data showed that more than 2,300 flights had been disrupted since Sunday, affecting 270,337 passengers. That was a sharp increase from a day earlier, when more than 450 flights affecting 170,000 passengers were disrupted.
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Stranded passengers wait at the domestic terminal of I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Kuta, Bali, on Sept. 7, 2026, as some flights to Jakarta were cancelled due to the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau. (Reuters/Johannes Christo)
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ocal and international travelers scrambled for alternatives and faced mounting uncertainty on Monday as Mount Anak Krakatau’s volcanic ash kept eight Indonesian airports closed, disrupting thousands of flights as critics questioned the government’s contingency plans and communication.
The travel chaos stretched into its second day after the volcano, located in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, erupted continuously for about 25 hours from late Friday to early Sunday, sending ash plumes as high as 50,000 feet into the atmosphere.
The volcano erupted again on Sunday evening, although the event lasted less than a minute.
The lingering ash forced eight airports to remain closed on Monday, including Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, after ashfall was detected around their airfields.
Transportation Ministry data showed that nearly 3,000 flights had been disrupted since Sunday, affecting 341,000 passengers. That was a sharp increase from a day earlier, when more than 450 flights affecting 170,000 passengers were disrupted.
Read also: Anak Krakatau eruption grounds flights, blankets vast region
With airport closures extended in increments of several hours, travelers were left uncertain about when they could resume their journeys, particularly those facing tight connections or other time-sensitive plans.
