Eruption of the Anak Krakatau volcano in Indonesia: almost 3,000 flights canceled and gradual reopening of airports

The Anak Krakatau volcano, 150 kilometers from the capital, erupted again between Friday and Saturday, forcing flights to be stopped in eight Indonesian airports. In three days, almost 3,000 flights were postponed or cancelled, for over 340 thousand passengers. On Monday night, the Ministry of Transport announced the reopening of Jakarta International Airport and four other airports

A blaze that illuminated the night, then a rain of ashes and lapilli and a column of gray smoke rose towards the sky. Between Friday and Saturday the Anak Krakatau volcano in Indonesia began to erupt again, forcing take-offs and landings to be suspended at eight airports in the country for safety reasons, including Soekarno-Hatta which serves the capital Jakarta. In three days the authorities recorded the postponement or cancellation of almost 3,000 flights, for over 340 thousand passengers. On Tuesday morning the situation returned to normal: in addition to the international airport of Jakarta, which reopened during the night, the other four airports near the capital or around the island of Java which were closed due to volcanic ash are also operational again.

The reopening of the airports

Authorities initially aimed to reopen Jakarta airport at 6pm on Monday, but then postponed it by at least six hours for security reasons. The capital's airport returned to operation during the night and on Tuesday morning the Ministry of Transport announced on Instagram the reopening of the other four airports near Jakarta or around the island of Java. In the previous hours, long queues of travelers had formed in the capital's main airport. The government had set up six alternative airports — including those in East Java, Central Java and Yogyakarta — for flights originally bound for Jakarta, with free buses for passengers departing from other airports.

Alert still high

Even in recent days the air contained volcanic ash, while the Indonesian geological agency defined the probability of new eruptions as "high". Distance learning has been arranged in schools in the area. Anak Krakatau is just 150 kilometers from Jakarta.

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"Son of Krakatoa": the story of the volcano

Anak Krakatau emerged from the waters about a century ago and its name means "son of Krakatoa", the volcano that rose in the same area between Java and Sumatra and which in 1883 was largely destroyed by a series of violent eruptions, with 36 thousand victims. At the end of 2018, a powerful eruption of Anak Krakatau instead caused a tsunami that killed over 400 people. With its 127 active volcanoes, Indonesia is located in the so-called "Ring of Fire", the highly seismic arc area that crosses the planet from the eastern parts of Asia and Oceania to the western parts of the Americas.