Tangerang, Indonesia – September 6: Citylink passengers queue for ticket refunds after their flights were canceled for safety reasons following volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau. September 6, 2026 at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Terminal 1C in Tangerang, Indonesia. (Photo credit: Firdaus Wajidi/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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Ash fall from the eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Anak Krakatau wreaked havoc on flights around the region over the weekend.
The volcanic eruption disrupted hundreds of flights at Jakarta’s main international airport, Southeast Asia’s second-busiest, with cancellations continuing until Monday.
According to a CNBC translation of a press release from the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, the volcano began its continuous eruption at 11:07 pm local time on Friday. The continuous eruption continued for about 25 hours, ending at 12:04 a.m. Sunday.
Volcanic ash forced authorities to suspend operations at Jakarta’s main airport, Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, and the closure was extended several times on Sunday, according to a translation by Indonesia’s Civil Aviation Directorate.
As of 10:35 a.m. Sunday, at least 373 flights were affected. At Soekarno-Hatta Airport alone, 202 flights were affected, including 167 canceled flights.
According to aviation data provider OAG, Soekarno-Hatta Airport is Southeast Asia’s second busiest airport in terms of scheduled airline seats this month, with 3.24 million seats.
Flight disruptions continued into Monday, with Singapore Airlines canceling flights between Singapore and Jakarta due to volcanic activity, including nine flights scheduled for Monday on the same route. Its low-cost carrier Scoot also canceled flights scheduled for Monday between Singapore and Jakarta, according to a separate travel advisory.
Indonesia’s meteorological agency said volcanic ash was detected at altitudes of up to 20,000 feet moving east and up to 50,000 feet moving west, according to a CNBC translation. Volcanic ash was detected in several areas in and around Jakarta, extending as far as the Indian Ocean.
Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources announced that the ongoing eruption has ended, but volcanic activity remains active. The ministry said further eruptions are still likely, and if continued eruptions resume, they could pose hazards such as incandescent rock, heavy ash fall and potential lava flows.
Mount Anak Krakatoa remains at level III, or “alert,” with authorities maintaining a three-kilometer exclusion zone around the volcano.
