A powerful eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Anak Krakatau sent ash plumes up to 50,000 feet, disrupting air travel across Southeast Asia. Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport temporarily halted operations after runway inspections detected volcanic ash. Airlines including Garuda Indonesia, AirAsia and Singapore Airlines cancelled or rescheduled flights.

Jakarta [Indonesia], September 6: Air transit across Southeast Asia faced severe disruption on Sunday after intense explosive activity at Mount Anak Krakatau sent vast ash plumes towering up to 50,000 feet into the sky.

Flights disrupted by ash cloud

The resulting airborne hazard forced safety authorities to implement a temporary grounding of flight operations at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, triggering a chain reaction of cancellations, delays, and reroutings across major regional carriers.

The decision to halt operations at Indonesia's principal gateway followed diagnostic runway sweeps between midnight and 1:00 AM, which confirmed dangerous accumulations of volcanic particulate matter, reported Al Jazeera.