Missed classes, extended holidays: Passengers stranded after Mount Anak Krakatau disruptions

Information boards showing cancelled flights to Jakarta seen at Changi Airport Terminal 3 on Sep 6.

ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH

Published Sep 06, 2026, 06:30 PM

Updated Sep 06, 2026, 06:30 PM

Mount Anak Krakatau's eruption caused the closure of Jakarta’s main airport, leading to hundreds of flight cancellations and stranded passengers.

Passengers faced stress and uncertainty, with some seeking alternative routes or refunds, while others had to extend their stays at increased costs.

Despite disruptions, some travellers remained calm, viewing delays as extended holidays, while others worried about job security and expenses.

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SINGAPORE - Indonesian student Zafran Aiman Kamil was all ready to fly from Jakarta to Singapore ahead of his first day of school at the Singapore University of Technology and Design.

Instead, the 17-year-old was left trying to work out how to get there after his Singapore Airlines flight on Sept 6 was cancelled following the closure of Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

The closure, caused by the eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Anak Krakatau, resulted in hundreds of flights being cancelled or suspended and affected many more passengers.

Anak Krakatau began erupting late on Sept 4, spewing volcanic ash as far as Bandung, 150km south-east of Jakarta. At least five airports in Indonesia suspended flight operations on Sept 6.

Zafran said he and his family were trying to work out alternative travel arrangements, adding that he had already scheduled an appointment with Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority for his student pass.

“It’s very stressful,” he said.

His mother Nana, 47, said the family was considering seeking a refund for their flight and returning to their home in Semarang.

An alternative was to fly to Batam and take a ferry from there to Singapore.

“Hopefully everything will work out,” she said.

Passengers queue at check-in desks as flights are cancelled at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, in Tangerang, on the outskirts of Jakarta, on Sept 6. PHOTO: EPA

Passengers queue at check-in desks as flights are cancelled at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, in Tangerang, on the outskirts of Jakarta, on Sept 6.

The Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta was more hectic than usual on the morning of Sept 6 as thousands of travellers awaited news of how their flights would be affected by the eruption.

The benches in Terminal 3, the airport’s main international terminal, were fully occupied, with many travellers sitting on the floor as they contacted their family and friends about their predicament.

Among them was Singaporean Megawati, 55, who had travelled to Indonesia with her husband to celebrate their 32nd wedding anniversary.

Their SIA flight home was originally scheduled to depart at 8pm on Sept 5, before being rescheduled to 8am on Sept 6 and then again to 1.45pm. It was eventually cancelled.

“When we arrived at the airport, (SIA staff) told us that the flight would probably be rescheduled in two to three days,” the housewife who declined to give her last name said, adding that her husband was trying to arrange new flights.

The couple planned to stay at a hotel near the airport in Jakarta once they were more certain about when they could leave.

“I joked to my husband that this is the most expensive anniversary we’ve had,” she said.

“Because now we have to extend and the hotel rates have gone up a lot because everyone’s stranded here.”

At Changi Airport, passengers bound for Jakarta appeared to take the disruptions in their stride, even as flights were rescheduled throughout the day. Most were eventually cancelled as the closure in Jakarta was repeatedly extended.

A 33-year-old Indonesian tax consultant who wanted to be known only as Tommy was transiting through Singapore after a week of holidaying in Malaysia with his mother and in-laws.

They arrived in Singapore before noon on Sept 6, and decided to walk around Jewel Changi Airport and have a long lunch - only to find out afterwards that their SIA flight to Jakarta, originally scheduled for 5.20pm, was cancelled.

Although they had been looking forward to returning home, they will now treat the delay as an extension of their holiday, he said.

“Actually, I saw news about the volcano activity two weeks ago so I’m not surprised,” said Tommy.

“This happens quite often. My friends said to just treat it as an extended holiday.”

He added that despite Sept 7 being a working day, the delay in returning home would have little effect as he has a hybrid working arrangement.

He said: “I’ll just book a hotel for tonight and find some ways to kill time.”

For Sandra, an Indonesian counsellor in her 60s, the disruption felt like deja vu.

She was heading home after holidaying in China with five family members and was transiting in Singapore when her 1pm Scoot flight was cancelled.

She recalled how a decade ago, she and her family faced a similar situation when their Scoot flight home was cancelled, leaving them stuck in Singapore.

“In 2016 it was a smaller eruption, so the airport wasn’t closed, but Scoot still cancelled our flight out of caution,” she said.

“We seem to find ourselves stuck in Singapore quite often. We were saying hopefully we don’t find ourselves stuck here again in 2036.”

Two members of her group had flown home to Jakarta on Sept 5, but Sandra and three others had to spend at least one more night in Singapore.

While she is taking things in her stride, Sandra said there were other groups of Indonesians who had reached out to her, saying they were anxious.

She said: “For some of them, they don’t want to spend a night in Singapore because it’s very expensive. There are also others who are worried about their jobs back home.”

Karina Tehusijarana is Indonesia Correspondent for The Straits Times.

David Sun is The Straits Times’ crime correspondent. He has a background in criminology and is a licensed private investigator.

9月6日，樟宜机场3号航站楼出现信息牌，显示飞往雅加达的航班已取消。

《海峡时报》摄影：JASON QUAH

发布于2026年9月6日下午6:30

更新于2026年9月6日下午6:30

喀拉喀托之子火山的喷发导致雅加达主要机场关闭，造成数百个航班取消和乘客滞留。

乘客们面临着压力和不确定性，一些人寻求其他路线或退款，而另一些人则不得不延长停留时间，从而增加了成本。

尽管出行受到干扰，一些旅客仍然保持冷静，将延误视为延长假期，而另一些旅客则担心工作保障和出行费用。

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新加坡——印尼学生扎夫兰·艾曼·卡米尔已做好从雅加达飞往新加坡的准备，迎接他在新加坡科技设计大学的第一天。

然而，由于雅加达苏加诺-哈达国际机场关闭，他原定于 9 月 6 日乘坐的新加坡航空公司航班被取消，这位 17 岁的少年只能想办法前往目的地。

印尼喀拉喀托火山爆发导致机场关闭，数百个航班被取消或暂停，更多乘客受到影响。

喀拉喀托之子火山于9月4日晚开始喷发，火山灰远至雅加达东南150公里处的万隆。9月6日，印尼至少有五个机场暂停了航班运营。

扎夫兰表示，他和家人正在努力寻找其他出行安排，并补充说，他已经与新加坡移民和关卡局预约办理学生准证。

“压力很大，”他说。

他的母亲娜娜（47岁）说，他们一家正在考虑申请退还机票款，然后返回位于三宝垄的家中。

另一种方法是飞往巴淡岛，然后从那里乘渡轮前往新加坡。

“希望一切都能顺利解决，”她说。

9月6日，在雅加达郊区丹格朗的苏加诺-哈达国际机场，由于航班取消，乘客在值机柜台前排队等候。图片：EPA

9月6日，在雅加达郊区丹格朗的苏加诺-哈达国际机场，由于航班取消，乘客在值机柜台前排队等候。

9月6日上午，雅加达苏加诺-哈达国际机场比平时更加​​繁忙，成千上万的旅客都在等待火山爆发将如何影响他们的航班的消息。

机场主要国际航站楼 3 号航站楼的长椅上坐满了人，许多旅客坐在地上，一边联系家人和朋友，一边倾诉自己的困境。

其中包括 55 岁的新加坡人梅加瓦蒂，她和丈夫一起前往印度尼西亚庆祝他们的 32 周年结婚纪念日。

他们乘坐的新加坡航空回家的航班原定于9月5日晚上8点起飞，之后改期至9月6日早上8点，然后又改期至下午1点45分。最终，航班被取消。

“我们到达机场时，（新加坡航空公司的工作人员）告诉我们，航班可能会在两到三天内改签，”这位不愿透露姓氏的家庭主妇说，并补充说她的丈夫正在努力安排新的航班。

这对夫妇计划在确定何时可以离开后，入住雅加达机场附近的酒店。

“我跟丈夫开玩笑说，这是我们过过的最贵的结婚纪念日了，”她说。

“因为现在我们不得不延长住宿时间，而且由于大家都滞留在了这里，酒店价格也上涨了很多。”

在樟宜机场，飞往雅加达的乘客似乎并未受到航班延误的影响，尽管当天航班多次改签。由于雅加达的封锁措施一再延长，最终大部分航班都被取消。

一位 33 岁的印尼税务顾问，化名 Tommy，在与母亲和岳父岳母在马来西亚度假一周后，经新加坡转机。

他们于 9 月 6 日中午前抵达新加坡，决定在樟宜机场的星耀樟宜逛逛，享用一顿丰盛的午餐——结果之后才发现，他们原定于下午 5 点 20 分起飞的新加坡航空飞往雅加达的航班被取消了。

他说，虽然他们一直盼望着回家，但现在他们会把这次延误当作假期的延长。

“其实，我两周前就看到了有关火山活动的新闻，所以我并不感到惊讶，”汤米说。

“这种情况经常发生。我的朋友们说就当是延长假期吧。”

他还补充说，尽管9月7日是工作日，但由于他实行混合办公安排，延迟回家对他影响不大。

他说：“我今晚就订个酒店，然后找点事打发时间。”

对于60多岁的印尼咨询师桑德拉来说，这种混乱感觉似曾相识。

她和五位家人在中国度假后准备回家，在新加坡转机时，下午 1 点的酷航航班被取消了。

她回忆起十年前，她和家人也曾面临类似的情况，当时他们乘坐的酷航航班被取消，导致他们滞留在新加坡。

“2016 年那次火山喷发规模较小，所以机场没有关闭，但酷航出于谨慎还是取消了我们的航班，”她说。

“我们似乎经常发现自己被困在新加坡。我们当时就说，希望到了2036年我们不会再被困在这里了。”

她的团队成员中有两人已于 9 月 5 日飞回雅加达，但桑德拉和其他三人还必须在新加坡至少再待一晚。

桑德拉表示，虽然她自己对现状泰然处之，但还有其他一些印尼人团体联系了她，说他们很焦虑。

她说：“有些人不想在新加坡过夜，因为那里消费太高。还有一些人担心他们在家乡的工作。”

Karina Tehusijarana 是《海峡时报》驻印度尼西亚记者。

大卫·孙是《海峡时报》的犯罪记者。他拥有犯罪学背景，并且是一名持证私人侦探。