Six airports in Indonesia suspend operations after volcanic eruption

Indonesia halted operations at its main international airport outside Jakarta on Sunday after ash spewed from the Anak Krakatoa volcano more than 150 kilometres away, impacting thousands of passengers. Mount Anak Krakatoa erupted on Saturday, producing a fountain of lava and booming sounds that could be heard up to a few hundred kilometres away, the geology agency said in a statement. Two new eruptions were recorded on Sunday, the volcanology agency warned. Ash from the volcano was detected in the airspace surrounding Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, prompting authorities to initially suspend operations from 1:30am Sunday (Saturday 18:30 GMT) to 5:30am. The suspension was extended three times, with the latest ending at 5:30pm Sunday "due to increased eruptive activity", the airport said in a social media post. Operations have been suspended at six airports, including the Hussein Sastranegara airport in Bandung and Radin Inten II airport near Bandar Lampung on Sumatra, the country's Transportation Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said. Several airports in cities, including Semarang and Surabaya, have been prepared as "alternatives for landing", Dudy added. Passengers scrambling The di...