Jakarta (Indonesia), September 08 (H.S.): Indonesia reopened five airports affected by ash from the eruption of Anak Krakatau volcano on Tuesday morning. The airports had remained closed for two days, disrupting around 3,000 flights. Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi confirmed the development. The government said the situation had improved. However, three other airports remained closed until 10 a.m. local time.

According to a report by Indonesia’s state-run news agency Antara, Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, Husein Sastranegara Airport in the West Java city of Bandung, and two smaller airports in Banten province were reopened shortly after midnight.

Purwagandhi said, “We are taking a precautionary approach because the wind direction is changing very rapidly. We want to make sure that the volcanic ash has moved away from the airports around Anak Krakatau.”

The closure of the airports on Sunday and Monday affected approximately 2,961 flights, including 622 international flights. Around 341,000 passengers were affected by the disruption.

Purwagandhi said operations resumed at 12:01 a.m. local time on Tuesday after safety checks were conducted at the affected airports and in the surrounding airspace. According to the latest information available at 12:10 p.m. Western Indonesia Time (WIB) on Monday, volcanic ash from Anak Krakatau had been observed at an altitude of approximately 15,000 feet, Purwagandhi said.

He said passengers affected by flight cancellations would be entitled to a 100 percent refund in accordance with applicable regulations. He added that the government would also provide immigration exemptions to foreign nationals who remain in Indonesia beyond the expiry of their visas because their flights were cancelled.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar