Indonesia Reopens Jakarta Airport After Volcanic Ash Crisis

Key facts

• Indonesia reopened its main Jakarta airport and four other airports on Tuesday.
• The airports had been closed due to volcanic ash from Mount Anak Krakatau eruptions.
• Ash from Anak Krakatau blanketed Jakarta and surrounding areas since Friday night.
• Eight airports were initially closed, impacting over 340,000 travelers.
• Authorities are assessing the airworthiness of 178 planes at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta Airport.

Indonesia has reopened its main Jakarta airport and four others that had been closed due to volcanic ash from a series of eruptions at Mount Anak Krakatau. Ash from the volcano, which sits between Java and Sumatra islands, had blanketed Jakarta and surrounding areas since its initial eruption late on Friday, leading to the closure of eight airports for safety reasons and impacting over 340,000 travelers.

Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi stated that Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Jakarta's main airport, resumed operations on Tuesday after wind blew the ash away. Four other airports, including a smaller one in Jakarta and one in Bandung, also reopened. Another airport had reopened on Monday, while two remain closed. Purwagandhi noted that authorities need to check the airworthiness of the 178 planes that were at Soekarno-Hatta during the closure.

Mount Anak Krakatau erupted three times on Tuesday, with the severity of these eruptions not immediately known. The volcano is one of about 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia, located on the Pacific Ring of Fire. The previous Krakatau volcano destroyed itself in mass eruptions in 1883, causing over 36,000 deaths from tsunamis.