Missed conference days, lost business for those on first flights back to S’pore from Indonesia

Daughter, Yasmine Aqila Khairunnisa, 16, embraces her mother , Malani Julyva Tiahayati, (right) 43, at Changi Airport Terminal 3 on Sept 8, 2026, after flights between Singapore and Jakarta resumed following temporary disruptions caused by volcanic ash from Anak Krakatau.

Published Sep 08, 2026, 03:40 PM

Updated Sep 08, 2026, 03:40 PM

SINGAPORE – Following several days of flight disruptions between Singapore and Jakarta, the first flights from the Indonesian capital started arriving at Changi Airport on the morning of Sept 8 without fanfare, with the mood among passengers more one of relief and exhaustion than celebration.

Scheduled flights arrived steadily from 10am onwards in the first half of the day across Terminals 3 and 4, operated by Indonesian carriers Batik Air, Pelita Air and Garuda Indonesia; Singapore Airlines and Scoot flights are expected to arrive later in the day.

Passengers The Straits Times spoke to said proceedings were calm and smooth at Jakarta’s main Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on the morning of Sept 8, as several other air travel hubs also reopened after days of closure due to ash from the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau .

However, having to find alternative flights at the last minute meant unforeseen additional expenses for several travellers.

Singaporean Terrence Sim, a director at a company that supplies motorcycle accessories, was in Jakarta for a motorcycle exhibition last week and due in Taipei on Sept 8 for a conference.

What should have been a direct flight from Jakarta costing around $500 ended up becoming an $800 expense after he booked a last-minute Batik Air flight to Singapore that landed at T4 at 10.30am, followed by a connecting China Eastern flight from Singapore to Taipei.

When he heard from a contact that the Batik Air flight was available late last night, he booked the earliest possible flight immediately.

“I was worried that the flights later in the day would be cancelled,” said Sim, who had also tried to book a train ride to Surabaya instead, but found that all trains were full.

“There were rumours that the airport would be closed until Friday, so I didn’t want to risk it,” added Sim, who said that besides volcanic ash, other fires around Indonesia have also been contributing to poor visibility.

Indonesian Mutia Indaningsih, the chief executive of an oil trading company, racked up about 15 million Indonesian rupiah, or over S$1,000, in flight rebooking costs after her flights were cancelled on Sept 6 and Sept 7.

Mutia, who missed the first day of the ongoing Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference at Raffles City Convention Centre, made it to Singapore on a Pelita Air flight that landed just after 10am.

She also had to forfeit one night’s hotel stay as it was booked with a voucher that could not be refunded, but was ultimately relieved to have finally made it to Singapore.

“This is a high-value event for me and I didn’t want to miss it… I’ve missed out on some topics but it’s okay, I’m here now.”

It was also a relief for Singaporean childcare teacher Nadia Zainuddin, who arrived on the Batik Air flight after her SIA flight on Sept 7 was cancelled.

“It was very difficult to find new flights... You have to search, search, search, search, search,” said Nadia, who had gone to Jakarta for a Teachers’ Day event.

“We didn’t know when the airport was going to open… we all panicked over there,” added Nadia, whose colleagues are still stuck in Jakarta.

For others like the restaurant team from Ushidoki Wagyu Kaiseki in Tras Street who landed on a Garuda flight at around 11.30am at T3, the delay in getting back to Singapore has meant a day of lost business.

A team of four from the restaurant had flown to Jakarta for a collaboration with the Biko Group and had closed their restaurant in Singapore from Sept 3 to 7. They were supposed to fly back on Sept 7 but managed to confirm their flight only on the morning of Sept 8, after an anxious wait in their hotel lobby earlier this morning.

“We can’t reopen today, as no prep work (for the kitchen) has been done” said general manager Dominic Sum. “I’m already getting complaints from customers who were supposed to come tonight.”

But for others like permanent resident Malani Tjahyati, who had gone to Jakarta for a high school reunion, the relief of making it back was palpable.

Malani, who was warmly greeted by her 16-year-old daughter and husband at the arrival hall, said she had gone to the Garuda office in Jakarta yesterday to check in person whether the flight was going ahead.

She had also worked out several backup plans with her husband – whether that meant taking a train to another city in Indonesia or flying to another country before continuing on to Singapore.

“I’m just glad to be home, Alhamdulillah,” she said.

Earlier on Sept 8, Singapore Airlines announced that eight additional relief flights between Singapore and Jakarta would be mounted to transfer customers affected by the disruption, subject to seat availability.

Changi Airport Group said that as flights between Singapore and Jakarta have resumed, passengers should check with their airlines for the latest flight information.

Anjali Raguraman is a correspondent at The Straits Times. She covers politics, as well as consumer stories spanning tourism, retail and F&B.

Aviation/Aerospace sector

2026 年 9 月 8 日，在新加坡和雅加达之间的航班因喀拉喀托火山灰造成的暂时中断而恢复后，16 岁的女儿 Yasmine Aqila Khairunnisa 在樟宜机场 3 号航站楼拥抱她 43 岁的母亲 Malani Julyva Tiahayati（右）。

发布于2026年9月8日下午3:40

更新于2026年9月8日下午3:40

新加坡——在新加坡和雅加达之间经历了数日的航班中断后，9月8日上午，来自印尼首都雅加达的首批航班开始抵达樟宜机场，但并没有举行任何庆祝活动，乘客们更多的是如释重负和疲惫不堪，而不是庆祝。

从上午 10 点开始，印尼巴迪克航空、佩利塔航空和印尼鹰航的航班陆续抵达 3 号和 4 号航站楼；新加坡航空和酷航的航班预计将于当天晚些时候抵达。

《海峡时报》采访的乘客表示，9 月 8 日上午，雅加达主要的苏加诺-哈达国际机场的运行平静顺利，其他几个航空枢纽也在因喀拉喀托之子火山喷发的火山灰而关闭数日后重新开放。

然而，由于需要在最后一刻寻找替代航班，一些旅客不得不承担意想不到的额外费用。

新加坡人 Terrence Sim 是一家摩托车配件供应商的董事，他上周在雅加达参加了一个摩托车展览会，并将于 9 月 8 日前往台北参加一个会议。

原本从雅加达直飞的航班，费用大约在 500 美元左右，结果却花费了 800 美元。因为他临时预订了 Batik Air 航空公司飞往新加坡的航班，该航班于上午 10:30 降落在 T4 航站楼，然后他又转乘中国东方航空公司的航班从新加坡飞往台北。

昨晚深夜，当他从一位朋友那里得知巴迪克航空还有航班时，他立即预订了最早的航班。

“我担心当天晚些时候的航班会被取消，”Sim说道。他还尝试预订前往泗水的火车票，但发现所有火车都已满员。

“有传言说机场要关闭到周五，所以我不想冒险，”Sim补充道。他还表示，除了火山灰之外，印尼各地的其他火灾也导致了能见度下降。

印尼石油贸易公司首席执行官穆蒂亚·因达宁西 (Mutia Indaningsih) 在 9 月 6 日和 7 日的航班被取消后，累计支付了约 1500 万印尼盾（约合 1000 多新加坡元）的机票改签费用。

穆蒂亚错过了在莱佛士城会议中心举行的亚太石油会议的第一天，他乘坐 Pelita Air 的航班抵达新加坡，该航班于上午 10 点刚过降落。

她还不得不放弃一晚的酒店住宿，因为那是用无法退款的代金券预订的，但最终她还是松了一口气，因为她终于抵达了新加坡。

“这对我来说是一次非常重要的活动，我不想错过……虽然错过了一些主题，但没关系，我现在来了。”

对于新加坡幼教老师纳迪亚·扎因努丁来说，这也是一种解脱。她于 9 月 7 日搭乘新加坡航空公司的航班抵达新加坡，但该航班被取消。

“找到新的航班非常困难……你必须不停地搜索、搜索、搜索、搜索，”娜迪亚说道，她去雅加达参加教师节活动。

“我们不知道机场什么时候开放……我们当时都很恐慌，”纳迪亚补充道，她的同事们仍然滞留在雅加达。

对于像 Tras Street 的 Ushidoki Wagyu Kaiseki 餐厅团队这样的其他人来说，他们乘坐印尼鹰航的航班于上午 11:30 左右抵达 T3 航站楼，返回新加坡的延误意味着损失了一天的生意。

这家餐厅的四人团队飞往雅加达与 Biko 集团合作，并于 9 月 3 日至 7 日关闭了他们在新加坡的餐厅。他们原定于 9 月 7 日返回，但在今天早上焦急地在酒店大堂等待之后，直到 9 月 8 日上午才确认了航班。

总经理多米尼克·萨姆表示：“我们今天无法重新开业，因为厨房的准备工作还没有完成。我已经收到一些原本今晚要来的顾客的投诉了。”

但对于像永久居民马拉尼·贾亚蒂这样的人来说，她去雅加达参加高中同学聚会，回来的如释重负的感觉是显而易见的。

抵达大厅时，玛拉尼受到了她 16 岁的女儿和丈夫的热烈欢迎。她说，昨天她亲自前往雅加达的印尼鹰航办事处，确认航班是否照常起飞。

她还和丈夫制定了几个备用方案——无论是乘火车到印度尼西亚的另一个城市，还是先飞往另一个国家，然后再前往新加坡。

“我很高兴能回家，感谢真主，”她说。

9 月 8 日早些时候，新加坡航空公司宣布，将增开 8 个新加坡至雅加达之间的救援航班，以接替受航班中断影响的乘客，具体视座位情况而定。

樟宜机场集团表示，随着新加坡和雅加达之间的航班恢复，乘客应向航空公司查询最新的航班信息。

安贾莉·拉古拉曼是《海峡时报》的记者。她的报道领域包括政治，以及涵盖旅游、零售和餐饮等领域的消费新闻。

航空航天领域