Missed classes, extended holidays: Passengers stranded after Mount Anak Krakatau disruptions
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
- Mount Anak Krakatau's eruption caused the closure of Jakarta’s main airport, leading to hundreds of flight cancellations and stranded passengers.
- Passengers faced stress and uncertainty, with some seeking alternative routes or refunds, while others had to extend their stays at increased costs.
- Despite disruptions, some travellers remained calm, viewing delays as extended holidays, while others worried about job security and expenses.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – Indonesian student Zafran Aiman Kamil was all ready to fly from Jakarta to Singapore ahead of his first day of school at the Singapore University of Technology and Design.
Instead, the 17-year-old was left trying to work out how to get to his destination after his Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight on Sept 6 was cancelled following the closure of Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
The closure, caused by the eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Anak Krakatau, resulted in hundreds of flights being cancelled or suspended, and affected many more passengers.
Anak Krakatau began erupting late on Sept 4, spewing volcanic ash as far as Bandung, 150km south-east of Jakarta. At least five airports in Indonesia suspended flight operations on Sept 6.
In Singapore, flights operated by SIA and Scoot from Changi Airport to Jakarta were cancelled early in the day. Other carriers such as Garuda Indonesia and Batik Air were also affected.
Zafran said he and his family were trying to work out alternative travel arrangements, adding that he had already scheduled an appointment with Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority for his student pass.
“It is very stressful,” he said.
His mother Nana, 47, said the family was considering seeking a refund for their flight and returning to their home in Semarang.
An alternative was to fly to Batam and take a ferry from there to Singapore.
Zafran Aiman Kamil (centre), his mother Nana and older brother Hafiz were set to visit Singapore for the commencement of Zafran’s studies at SUTD when their Singapore Airlines flight was cancelled due to the Anak Krakatau eruption.
ST PHOTO: KARINA TEHUSIJARANA
“Hopefully, everything will work out,” she said.
The Soekarno-Hatta International Airport was more hectic than usual on the morning of Sept 6 as thousands of travellers awaited news of how their flights would be affected by the eruption.
The benches in Terminal 3, the airport’s main international terminal, were fully occupied, with many travellers sitting on the floor as they contacted their family and friends about their predicament.
Among them was Singaporean Megawati, 55, who had travelled to Indonesia with her husband to celebrate their 32nd wedding anniversary.
Their SIA flight home was originally scheduled to depart at 8pm on Sept 5, before being rescheduled to 8am on Sept 6, and then again to 1.45pm. It was eventually cancelled.
Passengers lining up at the Scoot counters at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Sept 6 to reschedule flights cancelled due to the Anak Krakatau eruption.
ST PHOTO: KARINA TEHUSIJARANA
“When we arrived at the airport, (SIA staff) told us that the flight would probably be rescheduled in two to three days,” the housewife, who declined to give her last name, said, adding that her husband was trying to arrange new flights.
The couple plan to stay at a hotel near the airport in Jakarta once they are more certain about when they can leave.
“I joked to my husband that this is the most expensive anniversary we have had,” she said. “Because now, we have to extend, and the hotel rates have gone up a lot because everyone is stranded here.”
At Changi Airport, passengers bound for Jakarta appeared to take the disruptions in their stride, even as flights were rescheduled throughout the day. Most were eventually cancelled as the closure in Jakarta was extended repeatedly.
A 33-year-old Indonesian tax consultant who wanted to be known only as Tommy was transiting through Singapore after a week of holidaying in Malaysia with his mother and in-laws.
They arrived in Singapore before noon on Sept 6, and decided to walk around Jewel Changi Airport and have a long lunch – only to find out afterwards that their SIA flight to Jakarta, originally scheduled for 5.20pm, had been cancelled.
Although they had been looking forward to returning home, they will now treat the delay as an extension of their holiday, he said.
“Actually, I saw news about the volcano activity two weeks ago, so I am not surprised,” said Tommy.
“This happens quite often. My friends said to just treat it as an extended holiday.”
(From left) Indonesian tax consultant Tommy, his father-in-law Jauwanto, mother-in-law Fanny and mother Maliana at Changi Airport Terminal 2 on Sept 6.
ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
He added that despite Sept 7 being a working day, the delay in returning home would have little effect as he has a hybrid working arrangement.
He said: “I will just book a hotel for tonight and find some ways to kill time.”
For Sandra, an Indonesian counsellor in her 60s, the disruption felt like deja vu.
She was heading home after holidaying in China with five family members and was transiting in Singapore when her 1pm Scoot flight was cancelled.
She recalled how a decade ago, she and her family faced a similar situation when their Scoot flight home was cancelled, leaving them stuck in Singapore.
“In 2016, it was a smaller eruption, so the airport wasn’t closed, but Scoot still cancelled our flight out of caution,” she said.
“We seem to find ourselves stuck in Singapore quite often. We were saying hopefully we don’t find ourselves stuck here again in 2036.”
Traveller Sandra was transiting in Singapore when her 1pm Scoot flight was cancelled on Sept 6.
ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
Two members of her group had flown home to Jakarta on Sept 5, but Sandra and three others had to spend at least one more night in Singapore.
While she is taking things in her stride, Sandra said there were other groups of Indonesians who had reached out to her, saying they were anxious.
She said: “For some of them, they don’t want to spend a night in Singapore because it is very expensive. There are also others who are worried about their jobs back home.”
