An eruption of Indonesia's Mount Anak Krakatau caused six airports to suspend flight operations on Sunday, affecting hundreds of flights at Jakarta's main airport, after some school activities and fishing were halted. Soekarno-Hatta International Airport suspended flight operations until 1:30 p.m. (0630 GMT) due to volcanic ash, the airport posted on Instagram, stranding hundreds of passengers at the facility. The suspension has affected 301 flights, including 58 international flights, airport operator Angkasa Pura said in a statement. Singapore Airlines said it had cancelled flights to and from Jakarta for the rest of the day.

Anak Krakatau, which is roughly halfway between Java and Sumatra in Indonesia's vast island chain, has been erupting since late on Friday, with volcanic ash detected at the airport early on Sunday, the transport ministry said. Ash reached as high as 20,000 feet (6,000 metres) on the Java side of the volcano and 50,000 feet (15,000 metres) on the Sumatra side and some parts of Banten province in Java, meteorological agency BMKG posted on its website.

After one domestic flight was cancelled, Suhardi, 58, made his way to Soekarno-Hatta, hoping to catch a connecting flight in the morning for a business trip to Samarinda on the Indonesian part of Borneo island. French national Eloan Tasset, 21, got a text from Batik Air that his flight to his holiday destination of Manado in North Sulawesi had been delayed, but he said it was unclear how long the delay would be.

The airport operator said it was providing food and light refreshments for affected passengers and buses to hotels, in coordination with the airlines. The disaster mitigation agency BNPB said it would conduct a weather modification operation on Sunday to promote rain to wash away the ash. Indonesia sits on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire', where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are frequent.