Arabic version: رماد أناك كراكاتاو يوقف مئات الرحلات الجوية في جاكرتا

According to BBC News, ash from Anak Krakatau has led to the suspension of 209 flights at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Indonesia’s main international airport. The disruption has stranded tens of thousands of passengers and affected more than 22,000 people.

Authorities detected volcanic ash in airspace near the airport on Sunday morning and extended the pause in operations until 13:30 local time, or 0630 GMT. Indonesia’s transport ministry said flights to and from Singapore were among those mainly affected, along with international routes including Doha, Sydney and Kuala Lumpur.

The volcano began erupting late on Friday night, producing continuous seismic activity, lava fountains and booming sounds in surrounding regions. Authorities reported two further eruptions early on Sunday. They said there was no tsunami warning connected to the latest activity at the volcano, which lies in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra.

The health minister urged people in affected areas to stay indoors and use face masks because ash can pose respiratory, eye and skin risks. Local newspaper Kompas reported that several schools cancelled activities on Saturday after students and residents described eye irritation. Some fishermen also cancelled sea trips after reporting sore eyes.

Anak Krakatau, meaning Child of Krakatoa, has been sporadically active since emerging from the sea early last century in the caldera formed by the 1883 eruption of Mount Krakatoa. The volcano collapsed in December 2018, triggering a tsunami that killed more than 400 people and displaced and injured thousands more on nearby coasts of Sumatra and Java.