By Delhi and Mumbai airports reported flight delays on Tuesday linked to volcanic ash drifting from Indonesia’s erupting Mount Anak Krakatau.
Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport recorded 177 delays and 4 cancellations, while Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport recorded 245 delays and 3 cancellations.
Across Asia, the disruption totalled 2,927 delayed flights and 584 cancellations, with Tokyo Haneda and Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta among the worst-affected hubs.
Indian carriers IndiGo and Air India logged 258 and 114 delays respectively, alongside 9 and 2 cancellations.
The eruption began September 4 in the Sunda Strait and has kept Indonesian authorities on Alert Level III, with airports reopening in phases.
Shanghai Pudong International Airport also reported disruption, logging 178 delays and 8 cancellations as the ash cloud affected regional air corridors.
As of September 7, Indonesian volcanological authorities kept Anak Krakatau at Alert Level III, warning that the risk of further eruptions remained high and that airports were reopening in phases rather than all at once.
Etihad Airways and SpiceJet were among the international and domestic carriers reporting delays on services to and from Delhi and Mumbai during the disruption.
Volcanic ash poses a direct safety hazard to jet engines, which is why aviation authorities impose ground restrictions and altitude diversions rather than allowing aircraft to fly through affected airspace.
Garuda Indonesia and Batik Air, the two largest carriers based in the affected region, reported the heaviest cancellation rates of any airline tracked in the disruption.
Airlines advised passengers travelling through affected hubs to check flight status directly with carriers before heading to the airport, as ash-related restrictions were being updated through the day.
Mount Anak Krakatau, in Indonesia’s Sunda Strait, began erupting on September 4, triggering a five-day aviation shutdown that closed eight Indonesian airports and stranded more than 270,000 passengers.
Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport recorded the highest number of cancellations in the region, with 207 flights called off as ash plumes drifted over the airspace.
Interior of Terminal 3, Indira Gandhi International Airport, Wikimedia Commons, CC0
