Anak Krakatau eruption halts Jakarta airport; Jakarta–Bali flights cancelled

Update — 16 October 2026: the alert level has been raised again

Indonesia’s Geological Agency raised Anak Krakatau back to Level III (Siaga), the second-highest of four alert levels, from 9pm local time on 9 October after a series of eruptions. People must stay at least 5 km from the crater. We have found no report of new airport closures since then, but ash can disrupt Jakarta-area flights at short notice, so check your airline’s app on the day you fly. (MAGMA Indonesia; Katadata, 10 October)

Our 25 September update below, which reported the lowering to Level II, is kept as published; it was correct at the time.

Update — 25 September 2026: the alert level has been lowered

Indonesia’s Geological Agency (Badan Geologi) lowered Anak Krakatau from Level III (Siaga) to Level II (Waspada), the second of four alert levels, from 18:30 WIB on Monday 21 September 2026. The agency’s head, Lana Saria, said activity had been declining since the 25-hour continuous eruption of 4–6 September, CNN Indonesia and CNBC Indonesia reported. Visitors, tourists and climbers must still keep out of a 2 km radius around the crater — down from 3 km — and stay alert to ejected hot rocks and heavy ash. MAGMA Indonesia, the agency’s monitoring service, now lists the volcano at Level II.

We have found no report of a further airport closure since the eight airports shut by the ash reopened on 8 September. Level II still means an active volcano, so if you are flying to or from Jakarta or Bali, check your flight status on the day as you would in any eruption season. The earlier reports below are kept unchanged, including their references to Level III, which was correct when they were written.

Update — 17 September 2026: Jakarta and Bali flights are normal again

This is our first report on the eruption, published on the morning of 6 September. The disruption described here later widened: that evening eight Indonesian airports were closed with no reopening time. All eight reopened on 8 September, and Soekarno-Hatta’s spokesperson told ANTARA that afternoon that all air corridors had reopened. We have found no report of a further closure since. Bali’s airport was never among those closed. The full sequence is in our follow-up report.

Anak Krakatau is still at Level III (alert) of four on MAGMA Indonesia, the official volcano monitoring service, as of 17 September. The advice to build slack into Java connections “this week” referred to the week of 6 September. Flights are normal now, but a renewed ash event could still disrupt Jakarta services at short notice, so check your flight status before leaving for the airport. The report below is unchanged.

What happened (report of 6 September)

Anak Krakatau, the volcano in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, began erupting late on Friday 5 September 2026. By Sunday morning volcanic ash had reached Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, which suspended operations until 5:30 pm local time. Al Jazeera reported 301 flights affected, 58 of them international.

Husein Sastranegara airport in Bandung and Radin Inten II airport near Bandar Lampung were also suspended, and Semarang and Surabaya were prepared as alternate landing airports. Ash columns were reported at about 6,000 metres on the Java side and up to 15,000 metres on the Sumatra side. Indonesia’s disaster agency BNPB said there was no imminent tsunami risk, and the meteorological agency BMKG recorded two further eruptions on Sunday.

What it meant for Bali

Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai airport itself stayed open. Airport management told the ANTARA news agency that overall operations and services remained normal, but flights to and from Jakarta were disrupted: five inbound Jakarta–Bali services were cancelled (TransNusa and Indonesia AirAsia) and twelve departures to Jakarta and Halim were cancelled or delayed, including Garuda Indonesia, Citilink and Pelita Air flights.

Singapore Airlines cancelled its Jakarta flights for the rest of Sunday, according to Al Jazeera.

What Indian travellers should do

Most Indian travellers reach Bali either nonstop or via Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok rather than through Jakarta, and those routes were not the ones suspended. If your itinerary connects through Jakarta, or includes a domestic Garuda, Citilink or AirAsia leg to Bali, check the flight status with the airline before leaving for the airport. Volcanic ash disruption can recur for days after an eruption as the wind shifts, so build slack into any Java–Bali connection this week.

This is a developing situation; the figures above are as reported on 6 September and will change.

Sources

This report is based on the following published sources. Rules and schedules change — confirm with the issuing authority before you travel.

• Bali airport cancels flights amid Anak Krakatau volcanic activity — ANTARA News, 06 September 2026
• Indonesia’s main airport suspends flights due to Anak Krakatoa eruption — Al Jazeera, 06 September 2026
• Soekarno-Hatta Airport resumes flights as volcanic ash clears — ANTARA News, 08 September 2026
• Volcano activity levels — Anak Krakatau at Level III, checked 17 September 2026 — MAGMA Indonesia (PVMBG, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources)
• Gunung Anak Krakatau turun level dari Siaga ke Waspada — CNN Indonesia, 21 September 2026
• Status Gunung Api Anak Krakatau resmi turun jadi Level II atau Waspada — CNBC Indonesia, 21 September 2026
• Tingkat aktivitas gunung api (volcano activity levels, read 25 September 2026) — MAGMA Indonesia (Badan Geologi), 25 September 2026
• Status Gunung Anak Krakatau Naik Lagi ke Level Siaga — Katadata, 10 October 2026
• Waspada! Dini Hari Ini Gunung Anak Krakatau Kembali Erupsi (Sabtu, 17 Oktober 2026) — Katadata (Databoks), 17 October 2026