With Jakarta-area airports closed, here's how to still get in and out of Indonesia — Bali, Surabaya, Medan and Yogyakarta remain unaffected with direct Singapore/Kuala Lumpur flights

With Soekarno-Hatta and the other seven Jakarta-area/Sunda Strait airports closed on and off since 6 September (see our main article on the eruption and airport closures), the practical question for anyone needing to enter or leave Indonesia right now is which gateways still work. The ash cloud from Anak Krakatau covers Jakarta, Banten, West Java, Lampung and parts of South Sumatra and Bengkulu — it does not reach Bali, East Java, North Sumatra or Yogyakarta. Ngurah Rai (Denpasar/Bali), Juanda (Surabaya), Kualanamu (Medan) and Yogyakarta International Airport (YIA) have all been confirmed operating normally, with only knock-on schedule adjustments on their own Jakarta-bound flights — and all four carry standing scheduled international routes to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, not just emergency diversions. Separately, the government has activated five airports (Kertajati, Ahmad Yani/Semarang, Juanda, YIA and Adi Soemarmo/Solo) as 24-hour diversion hubs for flights that would otherwise have gone to the closed Jakarta-area airports, with free bus and Whoosh high-speed rail connections from the Jakarta area to Kertajati.

Timeline

1. as of 7 Sep, confirmed

   Ngurah Rai (Denpasar, Bali) — operating normally; only a handful of flights (5 per one report) had schedule adjustments, all tied specifically to Jakarta routes. Standing direct international service includes Singapore (multiple carriers) and other regional/long-haul destinations.

2. as of 7 Sep, confirmed

   Kualanamu (Medan, North Sumatra) — confirmed operating normally after a negative paper test for ash; cancellations (in the dozens) are limited to Jakarta-bound routes. Standing direct international service includes Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Penang.

3. as of 7 Sep, confirmed

   Juanda (Surabaya, East Java) — explicitly confirmed not directly affected by the ash; its own cancellations (around a dozen) are a knock-on effect of closures elsewhere, not conditions at Juanda itself. Standing direct international service includes Singapore (Scoot) and Kuala Lumpur (AirAsia, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways — around 93 flights/week on the Surabaya–KL route alone).

4. as of 7 Sep, confirmed

   Yogyakarta International Airport (YIA) — one of the five government-designated 24-hour alternate airports, also carrying its own standing direct routes to Kuala Lumpur (AirAsia, Malaysia Airlines) and Singapore (Scoot).

5. 6–7 Sep, ongoing

   The Ministry of Transport has named five airports as 24-hour diversion hubs for flights that would otherwise serve the closed Jakarta-area airports: Kertajati (Majalengka, West Java), Ahmad Yani (Semarang), Juanda (Surabaya), YIA (Yogyakarta) and Adi Soemarmo (Solo). At least two international flights (from Jeddah and Madinah) have already been diverted to Kertajati specifically. Free bus and Whoosh high-speed rail service has been arranged to move passengers between the Jakarta area and Kertajati; free buses also run from Soekarno-Hatta to Yogyakarta, Solo, Semarang and Surabaya.

Key points

• For direct Singapore/Kuala Lumpur connections on a normal scheduled route (not an emergency diversion), Denpasar (Bali), Surabaya, Medan and Yogyakarta are your most reliable options while Jakarta-area airports remain closed — none of them sit inside the ash-affected zone.
• The five government-designated diversion airports (Kertajati, Ahmad Yani, Juanda, YIA, Adi Soemarmo) exist mainly to absorb domestic flights redirected from the closed Jakarta-area airports, plus a handful of international diversions — they are not a substitute for booking a standing international route, and capacity there is likely to be tight given the redirected demand.
• Kertajati is the closest alternate to Jakarta and has free bus/Whoosh rail links from the city, but it does not carry the same depth of standing international routes as Bali, Surabaya, Medan or Yogyakarta — it is best suited to reaching a diverted flight, not to originating a new international booking.
• This is general route information, not a live booking guarantee. Schedules, seat availability and even which airports count as "unaffected" can change quickly as the eruption continues — confirm directly with your airline before finalising travel plans, and see our main article for the latest on Soekarno-Hatta and the other Jakarta-area closures.

Sources

• Denpost — Operasional Bandara Ngurah Rai Masih Normal, Lima Penerbangan Alami Penyesuaian Jadwal
• Media Indonesia — Dampak Erupsi Anak Krakatau, 17 Penerbangan di Bandara Ngurah Rai Dibatalkan
• ANTARA News — 51 penerbangan di Kualanamu alami penyesuaian akibat abu vulkanik GAK (confirms KNO itself unaffected)
• CNN Indonesia — 26 Penerbangan di Kualanamu Batal dan Dialihkan Imbas Krakatau
• RRI — Anak Krakatau Erupsi, 12 Penerbangan di Bandara Juanda Surabaya Dibatalkan (confirms Juanda itself unaffected)
• Malang Disway — Erupsi Anak Krakatau Hari Ini: Penerbangan Malang dan Kediri Terdampak, Juanda Buka 24 Jam
• Republika — Menhub Buka 5 Bandara Alternatif 24 Jam Imbas Erupsi Anak Krakatau (Kertajati, Ahmad Yani, Juanda, YIA, Adi Soemarmo)
• Media Indonesia — Kertajati, Semarang, hingga Solo Disiagakan Layani Pengalihan Penerbangan Jakarta
• Liputan6 — Soekarno-Hatta Ditutup, Penerbangan Jeddah dan Madinah Dialihkan ke Kertajati
• VIVA — Seskab: Sejumlah Penerbangan Menuju Jakarta Dialihkan ke Bandara Kertajati, Disiapkan Bus dan Whoosh