Four More Indonesian Airports Closed As Volcanic Ash Disrupt Flight Operations

By Nik Nurfaqih Nik Wil

JAKARTA, Sept 6 (Bernama) -- Four more airports in Indonesia were temporarily closed on Sunday as volcanic ash from Anak Krakatau continued to spread, further disrupting flight operations and bringing the total number of affected airports to five.

Transport Ministry Civil Aviation Director General Lukman F Laisa said the additional closures involved Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta, Raden Inten II Airport in Lampung, Budiarto Airport in Curug and Pondok Cabe Airfield.

“So, five airports have been closed. We continue to monitor the movement of this ash,” he said in an online press conference on Sunday.

He said the ministry was coordinating with airport operators, AirNav Indonesia and the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) on developments in the volcanic ash movement.

Earlier, authorities said Soekarno-Hatta International Airport was temporarily closed since 1.30 am Sunday after volcanic ash was detected in the airport area.

The closure is extended until 1.30pm local time.

Meanwhile, the Halim Perdanakusuma, Raden Inten II and Pondok Cabe are scheduled to remain closed until 2 pm, while Budiarto until 1.30 pm.

Anak Krakatau, located in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, has remained at Level III (Alert) since July 2, the second-highest level in Indonesia’s four-tier volcano alert system, with a three-kilometre exclusion zone in place around the volcano.

BMKG in a statement said satellite analysis at 8 am on Sunday identified two clusters of volcanic ash covering Banten, Jakarta and West Java and extending to Bengkulu, while its latest aviation warning showed ash reaching up to 20,000 feet (6,096 metres) moving east and up to 50,000 feet (15,240 metres) moving west.

Director of Earthquakes and Tsunamis Dr Wilya Yanto in the same press conference said continuous eruptive activity, including repeated ejections of lava, was still being observed on Sunday morning although the frequency have declined.

In a separate news conference, head of Indonesian Geological Agency Lana Saria said the repeated and continuous eruptions indicated an ongoing supply of magma and gas within the volcano, but stressed that frequent eruptions did not automatically mean a larger eruption would occur.

She said seismic activity and tremors were still being recorded, indicating the movement or release of volcanic fluids within the system, while the timing, magnitude and form of the next eruption could not be precisely determined.

On the possibility of a tsunami, Lana said not every eruption of Anak Krakatau would trigger one, noting that the Dec 22, 2018 Sunda Strait tsunami was primarily linked to the collapse of a large volume of the volcano’s edifice into the sea.

“Based on evaluations to date, the regrown edifice following Dec 22, 2018 remains relatively small and is not considered capable of collapsing on a scale that could trigger a tsunami,” she said, adding that changes in the volcano’s activity and morphology continued to be closely monitored.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Head Suharyanto said a weather modification operation would be carried out on Sunday until the evening to help reduce volcanic ash affecting Jakarta and surrounding areas.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said the ministry had activated its Health Emergency Operations Centres and would issue detailed guidance to health workers in affected districts and cities.

He said volcanic ash could cause respiratory, eye and skin problems, advising people in affected areas to remain indoors where possible and to wear masks and glasses if they needed to go outside, while community health centres had been equipped with nebulisers and oxygen concentrators, eye drops and skin ointments.

-- BERNAMA