Two SriLankan Airlines flights scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka from Sydney and Melbourne in Australia last night have been diverted due to the eruption of a volcano between the islands of Java and Sumatra in Indonesia, it has been reported.
Meanwhile, several Middle Eastern airlines operating between Australia and Indonesia have also been diverted.
Flights at several airports, including Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, have been suspended due to the eruption of the Anak Krakatau volcano between the islands of Java and Sumatra in Indonesia.
Indonesian aviation authorities have announced a ban on flights over a large area of airspace west of the volcano, below Sri Lanka, the Indonesian aviation authority said. The ban will remain in effect until further notice.
Air traffic controllers made the decision after observing that ash and silica-rich rock fragments emitted by the volcano had spread over a large area of the sky since it erupted yesterday. The rock fragments posed a risk of damage to aircraft engines and control systems, so the decision was made to divert flights.