Indonesia's Anak Krakatau volcano erupts, cancelling flights at Jakarta airport and others

The Associated Press

· Posted: Sep 06, 2026 11:26 AM EDT | Last Updated: 12 minutes ago

Anak Krakatau volcano erupted in Indonesia early Sunday, prompting the cancellation of all flights at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and disrupting other domestic airports as volcanic ash drifted across parts of western Indonesia.

The volcanic island located in Indonesia's Sunda Strait between the main Java and Sumatra islands had showed signs of activity since Friday before erupting for 30 seconds at 3:53 a.m. local time Sunday and for 16 seconds about three hours later, Indonesia's Geological Agency said. Closed-circuit camera footage showed lava flares from the volcano.

No casualties were reported, and no evacuation order was issued. The nearest settlement is more than 16 kilometres away, but authorities warned residents and visitors to stay at least three kilometres from the active crater.

Volcanic ash spread across parts of Jakarta and Lampung province on Sumatra's southern tip, Indonesia's Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation said.

AirNav Indonesia closed airspace around Soekarno-Hatta and Halim Perdanakusuma airports in Jakarta, as well as six other airports, including Radin Inten II airport in Lampung, because of volcanic ash.

People stand in queue for check-in as flights are disrupted due to the eruption of Arak Krakatau, at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Indonesia, on Sunday. (Tatan Syuflana/The Associated Press)

Thousands of passengers affected

By Sunday evening local time, the closure had affected 467 flights in Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta airport alone that affected about 150,000 passengers. The airport was ordered closed until 11:59 p.m.

"It’s of course an inconvenience," said Diego Urdiales, a Spanish tourist who was supposed to fly home to Madrid. "I was supposed to get input from the airline ... but so far no news."

"It’s a natural disaster, it’s a force majeure, so, what can we do?" said Michele Gouw, an Indonesian passenger. "We just have to accept it and wait for the airline and airport directions."

Indonesia's Directorate General of Civil Aviation said that it was closely monitoring the eruption's impact on air travel and co-ordinating with airlines, airport operators, air navigation services and the meteorology agency.

• Volcanic eruption in Indonesia forces evacuations, cancelled flights

"Safety remains our top priority in every operational decision," Lukman F. Laisa, director general of civil aviation at the Ministry of Transportation, said in a statement.

He warned flight schedules could face cascading disruptions affecting aircraft rotations, fleet availability and terminal capacity as airlines work to restore operations.

The eruption also disrupted services at Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport and at Medan.

Volcano remains active

Indonesia's volcanology agency and the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre identified two ash clouds using satellite imagery. One plume rose to 6,100 metres and drifted northeast over Jakarta, Banten, West Java and nearby waters. A second cloud reached 15,200 metres and spread over parts of Banten, Lampung and Bengkulu provinces, the southern Sunda Strait and sections of the Indian Ocean west of Sumatra.

Lana Saria, head of Indonesia's Geological Agency, said activity at Anak Krakatau has intensified since July, with Sunday's eruption the strongest during that period.

Lava glows during the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau in Sunda Strait, Indonesia, on Saturday, in this image released by Indonesia's Centre for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Agency (PVMBG). (PVMBG/The Associated Press)

The repeated eruptions indicate a continued supply of magma and volcanic gases beneath the volcano, she said, though officials can't predict whether a larger eruption will occur.

"We continue to evaluate the volcano's development based on all monitoring data, not solely on the number of eruptions or the height of the ash column," Saria said in a video briefing.

She said the main hazards include volcanic ash, high concentrations of gas and the ejection of hot rocks and other material around the crater area.

Anak Krakatau, which means "child of Krakatau," is the offspring of the famous Krakatau, whose monumental 1883 eruption triggered a period of global cooling.

An eruption of Anak Krakatau in 2018 caused a tsunami that killed at least 430 people in Sumatra and Java. Researchers believe volcanic activity triggered an underwater landslide and caused a large chunk of Anak Krakatau's southwest slope to collapse and displace a large volume of water. Scientists said that Anak Krakatau island was only about a quarter of its original size after that eruption.