Tens of thousands stranded as 209 flights suspended after volcanic eruption

Tens of thousands stranded as 209 flights suspended after volcanic eruption People have been advised to stay indoors because of the ash fallout Hundreds of flights have been suspended after an airport had to be closed because of the ash cloud caused by a volcanic eruption. Tens of thousands of passengers have been left stranded. 209 flights were suspended after ash from Anak Krakatau blew into the airspace near Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Sunday. Soekarno-Hatta is the main airport in Indonesia. The volcano started erupting on Friday night and there were two more eruptions on Sunday. More than 22,000 people have been hit by the suspension of flights, which has hity major international routes. There is no tsunami warning linked to the eruption in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. The health minister has urged residents to stay indoors and wear face masks. Local newspaper Kompas said schools cancelled activities on Saturday after students reported eye irritations. Fishing vessels have also been grounded amid health concerns. Resident Aldi Candra Prayogi told Kompas it felt like "small grains of sand had gotten into my eyes" and he is having to clear the path outside his home every five minutes. Anak Krakatau emerged from the sea in 1927 inside the caldera formed by the catastrophic, climate-altering eruption of the original Krakatoa volcano in 1883. The volcano grew at an average rate of 5 meters per year for decades and collapsed in 2018, triggering a tsunami which killed more than 400 people, and injured thousands more. Anak Krakatau remains one of the most active volcanic systems in Southeast Asia. It routinely experiences eruptive phases, building its cone back up through fresh ash deposits and lava flows while under continuous monitoring by Indonesian authorities. Roughly 300,000 to 400,000 British nationals visit Indonesia every year. Jakarta is the single most important transport hub in Indonesia and a major transit node in Southeast Asia, acting as the primary gateway for air, sea, and land movement across the archipelago. Soekarno–Hatta International Airport processes well over 50 million passengers annually, ranking as one of the busiest airports in Southeast Asia.