Indonesia reopened its airports, then closed eight of them indefinitely
Hours after Jakarta’s airports resumed, Anak Krakatau’s ash shut them again — along with six more, with no reopening time set. Diverted flights are going to Kertajati.
What changed on Sunday night
Indonesia’s earlier closure of six airports was lifted during Sunday, and then overtaken. In a media briefing reported by the state news agency ANTARA at 22:42 local time on 6 September, Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi confirmed that eight airports are now closed because of volcanic ash from Mount Anak Krakatau, with no reopening time set.
The eight are Soekarno-Hatta International at Tangerang, Halim Perdanakusuma in Jakarta, Radin Inten II in Lampung, Husein Sastranegara at Bandung, Budiarto at Curug, Pondok Cabe in South Tangerang, Taufik Kiemas in Pesisir Barat and Atung Bungsu at Pagar Alam. That takes in both of the capital’s airports and the main field for West Java.
The minister set no deadline. "Reopening will only occur once we can fully guarantee safe atmospheric conditions," he said, and the agency reports the closure as indefinite and dependent on how the ash disperses.
The reopening did not hold
This is the third turn in a story that has moved twice already in a single day, and the sequence matters more than any one figure. We reported the eruption and the first Jakarta suspension on Sunday morning, then the reopening after 764 flights were hit in the afternoon. That reopening has now been reversed and the closure widened.
Earlier in the day, while six airports were shut, the government had readied Kertajati in Majalengka, Ahmad Yani in Semarang and Juanda in Surabaya as alternates; 42 flights were cancelled at Juanda. Those alternates are now carrying a bigger load.
The practical lesson for anyone with a booking is that "reopened" has not meant "resolved" at any point in this eruption. Treat each reopening as provisional while the volcano is still at an elevated alert level and the ash is still moving with the wind.
If you are trying to leave Jakarta
Flights are being diverted to Kertajati, and the government has arranged onward transport from there. Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said on Sunday that bus and Whoosh high-speed rail services would be prepared from Kertajati to Jakarta. PT Kereta Api Indonesia has also added trains to Jakarta from Surabaya, Malang, Semarang and Yogyakarta.
No journey times, frequencies or station details were published with those arrangements, so treat them as capacity being added rather than a timetable you can plan against. If you are already in Java and need to move, the rail network is the part of this that is still working.
Bali is not among the eight closed airports; we set out what the eruption meant for Bali services in our first report, and that position was last confirmed at 14:03 on 6 September, before this escalation.
Refunds, and why the advisories lag
The transport ministry has pressed airlines on passenger rights throughout, and the minister repeated in the same briefing that refund entitlements must be honoured without delay. If your flight is cancelled, that is the ground to stand on.
A word on official advisories. Government travel advice is written at a moment in time, and this story has moved three times in a day. The UK Foreign Office page for Indonesia, updated on 6 September, described the two Jakarta airports as having closed on 5 September and then reopened, with continued disruption — accurate for the earlier phase, and written before the eight-airport announcement that evening. Read advisories for the standing risk picture, and your airline and airport for what is happening now. Our Indonesia destination pages cover the wider region.
Sources
This report is based on the following published sources. Rules and schedules change — confirm with the issuing authority before you travel.
- Mount Anak Krakatau eruption grounds eight Indonesian airports — ANTARA News, 06 September 2026
- Volcanic ash diverts flights to Kertajati, travel continues by Whoosh — ANTARA News, 06 September 2026
- Govt readies alternative airports as six closed over volcanic ash — ANTARA News, 06 September 2026
- Indonesia travel advice: warnings and insurance — UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, 06 September 2026
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