SEPANG, Sept 6 — Passengers stranded for over 12 hours at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 1 following flight cancellations to Jakarta hope the situation will resolve quickly so they can resume their journeys.

Redy Dwi Lingga, 21, said he and his friend arrived as early as 6 am for an 8 am flight to Jakarta, only to end up waiting for hours after being informed that their flight was cancelled.

“I didn’t expect this to happen. I came early in the morning for an 8 am flight, but ended up waiting for hours at the airport.

“I hope everything goes smoothly and the weather clears up so that flights can resume quickly,” he told Bernama.

He also urged the authorities to provide updates on flight schedules as soon as possible for the welfare of passengers.

Meanwhile, Octavia Suci Siregar, 18, said her flight scheduled to depart at 9.55 pm today was also cancelled, leaving her waiting at a designated area in KLIA Terminal 1.

“I hope everything gets resolved quickly so we can continue our journey to Jakarta. Right now, we are just waiting for further information from the airline,” she said.

Octavia also urged airlines to promptly provide flight schedule updates to allow passengers to plan their journeys accordingly.

“I am travelling alone, so I will remain at KLIA Terminal 1 until the airline provides a new flight date. I hope flights resume soon as I really want to return to Jakarta,” said Octavia, who arrived in Malaysia last week.

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) said 31 flights to Jakarta across all airports nationwide were cancelled today following the temporary closure of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport due to volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau.

According to MAHB, the cancellations reported by airlines as at noon today involved flights scheduled between 6.45am and 11.55pm.

The airport operator explained that Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) recorded the highest number of cancellations with 21 flights, comprising 15 at Terminal 1 and six at Terminal 2.

Mount Anak Krakatau, located in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, continued erupting through Saturday, with authorities reporting lava fountains and loud booming and rumbling sounds audible from an observation post.

The eruption began at 11.07 pm local time on Friday and persisted throughout observations from midnight to 6 am yesterday.

Indonesia’s Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation reported volcanic ash reaching heights of 6,000 metres on the Java side of the volcano, while ash plumes extended up to 15,000 metres over parts of Sumatra and Banten province in Java.

Flight operations at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport were suspended until 1.30 pm local time today (2.30 pm Malaysian time). — Bernama