Mount Anak Krakatau eruption disrupts flights, strands passengers

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.

“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.” 

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.” 

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.”