JAKARTA: Indonesia has designated three airports across Java as alternatives for domestic and international flights diverted due to volcanic ash from Anak Krakatau.
This comes as the number of airport closures rose to six after Husein Sastranegara Airport in Bandung, West Java, was shut at noon on Sunday.
Transportation Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said the alternatives include Kertajati International Airport in Majalengka, West Java, Jenderal Ahmad Yani International Airport in Semarang, Central Java, and Juanda International Airport in Sidoarjo, East Java.
"There are several airports in Java that we are preparing as alternatives for landings by flights from outside Java as well as international flights,” he told an online press conference on Sunday.
The five other airports affected are Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Radin Inten II Airport in Lampung, Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, Pondok Cabe Airport and Budiarto Airport, which were closed earlier in the day.
Dudy said all six would remain shut for at least another four hours after the latest tests continued to indicate the presence of volcanic ash.
Amid the continued closures, he said Kertajati was already being used as an alternative, with two Garuda Indonesia flights from Jeddah and Madinah having been diverted there.
"So far, based on the results of tests conducted at Kertajati Airport, it has not yet been affected and operations are still possible,” he said, adding that airlines had been asked to remain vigilant given the dynamic weather conditions and the possibility of volcanic ash spreading towards the airport.
On services for affected passengers, Dudy said airlines had been asked to promptly inform passengers of flight cancellations and facilitate cancellations and ticket refunds electronically so they would not need to travel to the airports.
He said the ministry encouraged the public and businesses to consider rail, road and sea transport, which had so far not been affected by the eruption, including for the movement of goods normally transported by air.
Meanwhile, Dudy said ferry services across the Sunda Strait, where Anak Krakatau is located between the islands of Java and Sumatra, remained operational, with no additional vessels deployed on the Merak-Bakauheni route as passenger numbers had declined amid the eruption. - Bernama
