Indonesia Reopens 5 Airports After Ash Strands 341,000, as Anak Krakatau Erupts Again
Updated
Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Sep 8
Indonesia Reopens 5 Airports After Ash Strands 341,000, as Anak Krakatau Erupts Again
3 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Sep 8
Summary
Five airports including Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta and Halim Perdanakusuma reopened just after midnight Tuesday, while three others stayed shut until 10 a.m. after a two-day ash closure.
2,961 flights were disrupted — including 622 international services — affecting more than 341,000 passengers as authorities waited for ash to clear, then inspected and cleaned runways, taxiways and aircraft.
178 planes grounded at Soekarno-Hatta will undergo airworthiness checks because officials said shifting winds made reopening unpredictable despite some airports showing no ash in tests.
Anak Krakatau was still active Tuesday morning, with eruptions recorded at 5:08 a.m. and 5:34 a.m.; officials said smaller blasts could still disrupt flights depending on ash height and wind direction.
The volcano remains at Indonesia's second-highest alert level with a 3 km exclusion zone, underscoring the broader risk in a country with more than 120 active volcanoes.
As main hubs reopen, two airports remain shuttered; what hidden atmospheric dangers does the drifting volcanic ash still pose to Indonesian skies?
With Anak Krakatau at Alert Level III, is reopening Jakarta's airport a calculated safety risk or an unavoidable economic necessity?
Could the massive flight disruptions and forced airline refunds trigger a larger, unforeseen financial shockwave across Southeast Asia's travel industry?