More than 2,000 flights have been canceled in Indonesia due to the volcano. Bali's airport has also been affected.

About 270,000 passengers were stranded at airports in Indonesia following a volcanic eruption that led to the cancellation of more than 2,000 flights and forced several airports to suspend operations for the second day in a row, according to the BBC.

According to the country’s transportation minister, six airports have suspended flight operations, Le Monde reports. Among them is Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, located near Jakarta. Bali Airport, popular with foreign tourists, remained open, but according to local aviation authorities, at least 16 domestic flights to and from the island were canceled, the publication reports.

Eyewitnesses from Malaysia who had spent a week in Bali told the Malaysian news agency Bernama that they were able to leave the island on Sunday, September 6, but were stranded at the airport in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia: their connecting flight to Kuala Lumpur was first delayed and then canceled. They were told that the next flight would not be until September 11 at the earliest.

The suspension of flights on Sunday, September 6, affected more than 22,000 passengers, according to Le Monde, citing Indonesia’s Ministry of Transportation. The disruption affected 209 flights—particularly those bound for Singapore. Other international routes affected included Kuala Lumpur, as well as Doha (Qatar) and Sydney (Australia).

The Anak Krakatau volcano, located 150 km from the country’s capital, Jakarta, began erupting late Friday evening, September 4. It spewed fountains of lava, and clouds of ash blanketed the capital and the province of Lampung on the neighboring island of Sumatra. Seismic activity continued throughout the weekend, according to the BBC.

On Sunday, September 6, volcanologists recorded two new eruptions—ash was detected in the airspace above Soekarno-Hatta International Airport near Jakarta, according to Le Monde. As a result, authorities suspended flights and subsequently extended the suspension several more times.

On Monday, September 7, the Indonesian Geological Agency warned that “the likelihood of further eruptions in the near future remains high,” according to the BBC. “We cannot say with certainty when this will end due to changing weather conditions,” the broadcaster quoted the country’s Minister of Transportation, Dudi Purwagandhi, as saying.

Volcanic ash rose to a height of 6,000 meters off the coast of Java and up to 15,000 meters off the coast of Sumatra, as well as in certain areas of Banten, the westernmost province of Java, the BBC reported, citing the BMKG meteorological service. According to the agency, the most recent eruption occurred on Sunday at 8:23 p.m.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor