Malaysian newlyweds’ Bali high turns into five-day airport nightmare, no thanks to Anak Krakatau ash cloud

A young Malaysian couple's honeymoon in Bali turned into an unexpected challenge when volcanic ash from Anak Krakatau disrupted their return journey, stranding them in Indonesia for five additional days with limited funds.

Initially scheduled to fly back to Malaysia on Sunday, Amir Hamzah and his wife, Fatin Zulaikha Azizal, faced repeated flight delays and eventual cancellations at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

The situation arose after volcanic activity prompted the temporary closure of the airport, impacting approximately 150,000 passengers and numerous flights.

The couple received temporary accommodation assistance while awaiting support from family in Malaysia.

JAKARTA, Sept 7 — What was meant to be a week-long honeymoon in Bali turned into an unexpected ordeal for a young Malaysian couple after volcanic ash from Anak Krakatau disrupted their journey home, leaving them stranded in Indonesia for five extra days with limited funds.

Amir Hamzah, 29, a factory worker from Kedah, and his wife, Fatin Zulaikha Azizal, also 29, who works for a private company, flew from Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport at 8.40pm on Saturday to Jakarta for their 8.30am connecting flight to Kuala Lumpur the next morning.

Amir and his wife were due to return to Malaysia on Sunday but found themselves stuck at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport after their connecting flight to Kuala Lumpur was repeatedly delayed and eventually cancelled.

“We thought we would just sleep at the airport for a few hours and then take the morning flight home. We never thought we would end up being stuck here for days,” Amir, who was travelling overseas for the first time, told Bernama.

They had already cleared immigration when the departure information screen showed their flight was delayed, with the departure time pushed back several times before it was eventually cancelled.

The disruption came as volcanic ash from Anak Krakatau forced Indonesian authorities to temporarily close Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and seven other airports, affecting about 150,000 passengers and 467 flights as of Sunday night.

After spending almost 24 hours at Soekarno-Hatta, the couple were informed by Garuda Indonesia that the earliest available flight was on Friday, Sept 11 — five days after their scheduled return.

“When I saw Friday, I was like, ‘Friday? What are we going to do here for another five days?’ We only prepared enough money for our honeymoon and to go home on Sunday,” he said.

He said buying replacement tickets would cost considerably more, while a refund for their cancelled flight would take several days to process.

“We were not told about any compensation, and from what we understood, there would be no compensation because the cancellation was due to force majeure.

“We had just got married, so of course, during the honeymoon we spent a bit more. We initially booked a budget hotel near the airport, but when we started calculating the cost of accommodation and food for another five days, we became worried that the money we had left would not be enough,” he said.

Concerned about how they would manage, Amir contacted Bernama’s Jakarta correspondent for assistance, and the couple were subsequently given temporary accommodation while waiting for help from their family in Malaysia.

Meanwhile, in Malaysia, 31 Jakarta-bound flights scheduled throughout Sunday were cancelled following the temporary closure of Soekarno-Hatta, including 21 at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, according to Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd.

Anak Krakatau, located in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, began erupting at 11.07pm local time on Friday, with Indonesian authorities reporting volcanic ash reaching about 6,000 metres on the Java side and plumes of up to 15,000 metres towards Sumatra and parts of Banten province. — Bernama

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一对年轻的马来西亚夫妇在巴厘岛度蜜月时，喀拉喀托火山喷发的火山灰扰乱了他们的返程，使他们在印度尼西亚滞留了五天，而且资金有限，这给他们带来了意想不到的挑战。

阿米尔·哈姆扎 (Amir Hamzah) 和他的妻子法廷·祖莱哈·阿齐扎尔 (Fatin Zulaikha Azizal) 原本计划于周日飞回马来西亚，但在雅加达苏加诺-哈达国际机场却面临航班多次延误和最终取消的情况。

火山活动导致机场暂时关闭，约 15 万名乘客和众多航班受到影响，由此引发了这一情况。

这对夫妇在等待马来西亚家人提供援助期间，获得了临时住宿援助。

雅加达，9 月 7 日——一对年轻的马来西亚夫妇原本计划在巴厘岛度过为期一周的蜜月，却因喀拉喀托火山喷发的火山灰而遭遇意外的磨难，他们的返程被打乱，导致他们在印度尼西亚滞留了五天，而且资金有限。

来自吉打州的 29 岁工厂工人 Amir Hamzah 和同样 29 岁的妻子 Fatin Zulaikha Azizal（在一家私营公司工作）于周六晚上 8 点 40 分从巴厘岛伍拉·赖国际机场飞往雅加达，准备第二天早上 8 点 30 分转机飞往吉隆坡。

阿米尔和他的妻子原定于周日返回马来西亚，但由于他们转机前往吉隆坡的航班一再延误，最终被取消，他们被困在了雅加达苏加诺-哈达国际机场。

“我们原本以为只会在机场睡几个小时，然后搭乘早班飞机回家。我们做梦也没想到会在这里被困好几天，”第一次出国旅行的阿米尔告诉马新社。

他们已经办理了入境手续，但出发信息屏幕显示他们的航班延误了，出发时间被多次推迟，最终航班被取消。

由于喀拉喀托火山喷发的火山灰迫使印尼当局暂时关闭苏加诺-哈达国际机场和其他七个机场，导致航班中断，截至周日晚间，约有 15 万名乘客和 467 个航班受到影响。

在苏加诺-哈达机场待了近 24 小时后，这对夫妇接到印尼鹰航的通知，最早的航班是 9 月 11 日星期五——比他们原定的返程日期晚了五天。

“当我看到星期五的时候，我就想，‘星期五？我们接下来五天要在这里做什么？’我们只准备了足够的钱去度蜜月，以及星期天回家，”他说。

他说，购买替代机票的费用要高得多，而取消航班的退款需要几天时间才能处理。

“我们没有被告知任何赔偿事宜，而且据我们了解，由于取消是由于不可抗力造成的，所以不会有任何赔偿。

“我们刚结婚，所以蜜月期间当然花得比较多。我们一开始订了一家机场附近的经济型酒店，但当我们开始计算接下来五天的住宿和餐饮费用时，我们开始担心剩下的钱不够用了，”他说。

阿米尔担心他们该如何维持生计，于是联系了马新社驻雅加达记者寻求帮助。随后，这对夫妇获得了临时住所，等待马来西亚家人的援助。

与此同时，据马来西亚机场控股有限公司称，由于苏加诺-哈达机场暂时关闭，原定于周日飞往雅加达的 31 个航班被取消，其中包括吉隆坡国际机场的 21 个航班。

位于爪哇岛和苏门答腊岛之间的巽他海峡的喀拉喀托之子火山于当地时间周五晚11点07分开始喷发。印尼当局报告称，爪哇岛一侧的火山灰高度达到约6000米，而向苏门答腊岛和万丹省部分地区喷出的火山灰柱高达15000米。——马新社

槟城政府拍卖丹绒槟榔土地，绕城公路项目正加速推进，力争在2027年完工。

因火山灰滞留在雅加达的马来西亚人找到了免费床位和热情的拥抱

前联邦土地发展局总经理因涉嫌参与项目和土地交易被控告，并被传唤至法庭候审。