Malaysian bikers stranded in Jakarta as Anak Krakatau disrupts flights
PETALING JAYA: More than 270,000 passengers across Indonesia, including a group of Malaysian bikers, were caught up in mass flight cancellations after Anak Krakatau’s eruptions shut down eight airports.
Malaysian traveller and Tenaga Nasional Berhad project supervisor Syamsul Kamal, 56, is among those stranded at Jakarta’s SoekarnoHatta International Airport.
Syamsul said some travellers arriving at their hotel were unable to secure rooms as cancelled and rescheduled flights left passengers scrambling for accommodation near the airport.
“We were fortunate to book our rooms early. By the time we reached the hotel, it was full and other travellers who came looking for rooms could not check in.
“There were many people at the airport, including some Malaysians and many Indonesians whose journeys were also disrupted,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Syamsul was among five Malaysian couples scheduled to return on a Batik Air flight on Sunday after a nine-day motorcycle convoy across West Java.
The group arrived at Soekarno-Hatta only to learn that operations had been suspended.
Their evening flight was initially rescheduled to 9am on Monday, prompting them to book rooms near the airport.
“When we returned to check-in the following morning, we were told that the airport was still closed.
“We requested a refund and decided to leave Indonesia through Surabaya because the volcanic activity was not showing signs of subsiding.
“We need to return to Malaysia because our leave has ended. We cannot tell how long the airport will remain closed.”
Syamsul said the ash was not clearly visible around their hotel, although members of the group experienced throat discomfort and nasal irritation.
Residents there advised them to wear masks while outdoors.
With no certainty over when their flight could depart, the group decided against remaining near the airport and arranged an overnight train journey across Java instead.
Each traveller paid about Rp900,000 (RM206) for a ticket, bringing the group’s total cost to approximately Rp9 million (RM2,060).
They were scheduled to leave Jakarta at 11.33pm last night and arrive in Surabaya at about 8am today, before searching for available flights from Juanda International Airport to Kuala Lumpur, as they had been told the airport there remained fully operational.
Syamsul’s wife, UiTM Arau lecturer Noraini Ismail, 54, was among those travelling with the group.
They had arrived in Jakarta on Aug 29 for a self-organised reconnaissance ride through the Indonesian districts of Subang, Cirebon, Bandung and Puncak in Bogor, ahead of a future motorcycle programme organised under a group called Adventure Touring Motorsports.
Their ordeal unfolded amid widespread disruption across Indonesia’s aviation network caused by Anak Krakatau’s recent eruptions.
Situated in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, the volcano has been erupting since late Friday, with its latest eruption recorded at 8.23pm on Sunday.
As of Sept 6, volcanic ash had reached up to 15,000m on the Sumatra side and 6,000m on the Java side.
Bernama reported that 31 Malaysia-Jakarta flights scheduled that day were cancelled, including 21 at KLIA and six in Penang.
The Penang cancellations, involving AirAsia, TransNusa and Batik Air, affected about 1,000 passengers.
Reuters reported yesterday that seven airports remained closed, with some 2,300 flights and about 270,000 passengers affected. Soekarno-Hatta’s closure was repeatedly extended and was scheduled to remain in force until 6pm Indonesian time.
Another fellow traveller, Nazri Ridha Sarudin, 52, who also tagged along with his wife, said the uncertainty continued after the group’s flight was postponed by a day, only to be cancelled when the airport failed to reopen as anticipated.
“We went to the airport and only then received official confirmation that the flight had been cancelled. After obtaining the refund, we focused on finding another way home through Surabaya.
“We arranged the hotel ourselves, but we understand that this is a problem caused by Mother Nature,” said Nazri, who manages a mobile phone store in Kepala Batas, Penang.
Nazri said the group did not contact the Malaysian embassy as its members were able to manage their arrangements independently.
He added that they had travel insurance covering flight delays and cancellations and hoped to return to Malaysia by Thursday.
