Eruption of the Anak Krakatau volcano suspends flights and affects 150,000 passengers in Indonesia

More than 150,000 passengers were stranded after a volcanic eruption forced Indonesian authorities to temporarily suspend operations at six airports.

Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport was the first to be closed on Sunday morning after ash from the Anak Krakatau volcano was detected in the airspace near the airport.

Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said that 467 flights have so far been affected and asked airlines to consider diverting some flights to other airports.

The volcano erupted on Friday night, generating continuous seismic activity, lava fountains and rumblings throughout the region. Two more eruptions occurred early Sunday morning, authorities said.

The Transport Ministry said the suspension of operations mainly affected flights to and from Singapore, as well as other international routes including Doha, Sydney and Kuala Lumpur.

Purwagandhi said the decision to temporarily close more airports was taken after tests found that volcanic ash had spread towards West Java.

He urged airlines to expedite ticket refund processes for passengers affected by flight cancellations and to provide timely information to those with upcoming flights to avoid crowding at airports.

According to Indonesia's meteorological agency, BMKG, the ash reached 6,000 meters (20,000 feet) in altitude in Java, east of the volcano, and 15,000 meters (50,000 feet) west of the volcano, on the Sumatra side.

Authorities have confirmed that there is no tsunami warning related to recent activity at the volcano, located in the Sunda Strait, between the islands of Java and Sumatra.

The health minister urged residents of affected areas to stay at home and wear face masks to protect themselves against respiratory, eye and skin risks.

According to local newspaper Kompas, several schools canceled activities on Saturday after students and residents reported eye irritation caused by the ash, while some fishermen canceled sea fishing trips, also reporting eye irritation.

One resident, Aldi Candra Prayogi, told the media outlet that his eyes began to feel irritated on Friday night, with the feeling that "small grains of sand had entered my eyes", and that he had to use eye drops to alleviate the irritation.

The dust is so thick that he has to sweep his front yard every five minutes, he added.

The volcano Anak Krakatau, which means offspring of Krakatoa, has shown sporadic activity since it emerged from the sea at the beginning of the last century, in the caldera formed after the eruption of Mount Krakatoa in 1883.

This 1883 eruption killed more than 36,000 people and destroyed 165 villages in less than 48 hours. It also produced what is considered the loudest sound ever recorded.

The Krakatoa pup, also known as Anak Krakatoa, collapsed in December 2018, triggering a massive tsunami that killed more than 400 people and left thousands homeless and injured on the nearby coasts of Sumatra and Java.

Scientists discovered that some of the chunks of rock that slid off the volcano when it collapsed were about 70 to 90 meters tall.

The volcano is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, a chain of volcanoes, earthquake sites, and tectonic plates around the Pacific. It stretches 40,000 km from the southern tip of South America to New Zealand.

Approximately 90% of all earthquakes occur along the area, and the ring is dotted with 75% of all active volcanoes on Earth, that is, 452 individual active volcanoes.