Flights to and from Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, have resumed following a volcanic eruption that led to a two-day closure affecting nearly 3,000 flights. The reopening of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta, Husein Sastranegara Airport in Bandung, and two smaller airports in Banten province occurred shortly after midnight, according to Indonesia’s Transportation Minister, Dudy Purwagandhi.
While some airports like Atung Bungsu Airport in South Sumatra province resumed normal operations on Monday morning, three other airports, including Radin Inten II Airport in Lampung, remained closed until 10 a.m. local time due to the unpredictable wind direction around Anak Krakatau.
Despite no traces of volcanic ash found in tests at several airports, the decision to extend closures was made to conduct thorough inspections and cleaning of airport surfaces, runways, taxiways, and aircraft that might have been exposed to volcanic ash.
Although the continuous eruption of Anak Krakatau with lava fountains and loud booms ceased on Sunday, the volcanic island remained active on Tuesday morning. The airport closures on Sunday and Monday resulted in the disruption of nearly 2,961 flights, including 622 international services, affecting approximately 341,000 passengers.