The Anak Krakatau volcano in Indonesia erupted and many airports in the country were suspended for the second consecutive day. Nearly 3,000 flights were affected and more than 340,000 passengers were stranded.
The volcano, located 150 kilometers south of Jakarta, began erupting late last Friday (September 4), spewing lava, and continued to be active throughout the weekend. A large amount of volcanic ash blew into Jakarta and Lampung province, affecting flight safety.
Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International airport failed to reopen at 18:00 local time on Monday (7th) as originally planned. The airport statement stated that flights will resume at 23:59 on the same day.
Jakarta's other airport, Halim Perdanakusuma, will be closed at the same time. It is a smaller airport responsible for civil aviation and military flights.
The Indonesian Geological Agency said the last eruption of Krakatau's Sons volcano was at 20:23 on Sunday, and authorities warned that "the possibility of another eruption in the future remains high."
Local schools have switched to online classes, and some maritime shipping has also been disrupted.
Thousands of stranded passengers lined up at the departure hall at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Monday, demanding refunds and trying to find out when they could catch flights.
Finna, 46, was originally scheduled to fly back to Jakarta from the East Java city of Malang on Sunday morning, but she said the situation at the airport was chaotic and the flight time was repeatedly rescheduled.
"The airport is very crowded because passengers from morning flights keep gathering, and passengers scheduled to leave later still don't know what is going to happen," she told BBC Indonesian.
"We were all glued to the flight information screen."
Unable to bear the uncertainty, she ended up taking two overnight trains and arrived in Jakarta at 03:00 on Monday.
Amir Hamzah, 29, from Malaysia, spent a week honeymooning in Bali with his new wife, but was told that the next flight back to Kuala Lumpur would not be until Friday (11th).
"What are we going to do if we stay here for another five days? We only have money for our honeymoon and we were supposed to go home yesterday," he told Malaysia's national news agency.
"We thought we would just sleep at the airport for a few hours and then fly home on Monday morning. We never thought we would end up stuck here for days."
Suhardi, 58, who was scheduled to travel to Lampung from Jakarta for work, told Reuters: "After all, this is nature. So I have to accept it because facing nature, I have no choice. Now I am just waiting for the next update from the airline."
The Indonesian Ministry of Transport previously stated that the airport suspension mainly affects flights to and from Singapore, as well as other international routes, including Doha, Sydney and Kuala Lumpur.
Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said authorities were conducting tests at airports every 30 minutes "in case the ash spread expands or weakens".
He pointed out that due to changing weather conditions, "it is currently impossible to determine when this (airport suspension) will end."
The volcano is located in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. Authorities confirmed that the volcanic activity did not trigger a tsunami warning.
According to the Indonesian Meteorological Agency (BMKG), on Java Island to the east of the volcano, the height of volcanic ash rose to 20,000 feet (6,000 meters); to the west of the volcano, on the Sumatra side, the height of volcanic ash reached 50,000 feet (15,000 meters).
The Indonesian Health Minister called on residents in affected areas to stay indoors and wear masks to prevent respiratory tract, eyes and skin from being affected.
Local newspaper "Kompas" reported that several schools canceled activities on Saturday (September 5) after students and residents said volcanic ash irritated their eyes; some fishermen also reported eye discomfort and canceled fishing trips.
One of the residents, Aldi Candra Prayogi, told the newspaper that since Friday night he had felt "like tiny grains of sand running into his eyes" and needed to use eye drops to relieve the discomfort.
He added that the dust was so thick that he had to clean the yard in front of his house every five minutes.
Son of Krakatau, whose name means "Children of Krakatoa", was formed in the caldera left by the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883. It has been intermittently active since its formation from the sea at the turn of the last century.
The volcano collapsed in December 2018, triggering a massive tsunami that killed more than 400 people and displaced and injured thousands of residents in coastal areas near Sumatra and Java.
Scientists found that some of the rock blocks that fell from the mountain when the volcano collapsed were about 70 to 90 meters high.
