JAKARTA HUB REOPENS AFTER VOLCANIC ASH CLOSURE

The continuing eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau in Indonesia’s Sunda Strait forced the temporary closure of Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK) from 6 September 2026, after volcanic ash clouds were assessed as posing a significant threat to safe aircraft operations in the vicinity. AirAsia cancelled or rescheduled all flights to and from Jakarta over the closure, along with adjustments to selected other services whose flight paths were affected. With CGK now reopened, AirAsia has resumed its affected services, with the exception of two flights on 8 September: QZ178 from Jakarta (CGK) to Bandar Lampung (TKG) and QZ179 on the return sector.

AirAsia’s own cancellation lists ran to dozens of flight legs on each of 6 and 7 September, covering most of the airline’s Jakarta hub network: services to and from Bandar Lampung, Kuala Lumpur, Denpasar (Bali), Penang, Johor Bahru, Silangit, Phnom Penh, Kota Bharu, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Labuan Bajo, Brunei and Palembang. A small number of the listed disruptions extended beyond Jakarta itself, including a Kuala Lumpur to Palembang service, an indication of how far the knock-on effect on aircraft and crew rotations reached beyond the airport at the centre of the closure.

AirAsia has set out Service Recovery Options for affected guests: a full refund to the original form of payment; a credit to the guest’s AirAsia account, valid for 730 days from issuance; a one-time free date change within 30 days of the original departure on the same route, subject to seat availability; or a reroute to another Indonesian destination on the AirAsia network for travel within 30 days of the original booking, also subject to seat availability.