Indonesia has reopened its main airport in Jakarta and four others that had been closed due to volcanic ash from Mount Anak Krakatau. The five airports reopened on Tuesday after authorities cleared volcanic ash from critical infrastructure. The disruption affected more than 340,000 travellers and approximately 2,900 flights.
Videos shared on social media by Soekarno-Hatta international airport in Jakarta showed firefighters and firetrucks clearing runways and other operational facilities covered by ash. Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said it may take “a bit” longer for flight schedules to return to normal. So, it may take a bit of extra time.” Anak Krakatau, which had a major eruption on Saturday, sits in a strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra.
The volcano erupted at least three times on Tuesday morning alone, according to the head of the national Geology Agency, Lana Saria. Anak Krakatau is one of about 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which straddles the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, a highly seismically active zone where different plates on the Earth’s crust meet to create a large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. An outburst in 2018 partly collapsed the volcano’s crater, which triggered a tsunami along the coasts of Java and Sumatra, killing more than 400 people.
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