Five airports have closed and worldwide airlines have cancelled their flights to the tourist hotspot, which is particularly popular this time of year among Australians looking to escape the antipodean winter.
Advertisement
Government vulcanologist Surono, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, said eruptions were continuing at the volcano on Friday, and it was producing flames and a thundering sound.
The Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre’s Emile Jansons explained the risk for flights near Denpasar, due to the height of the ash cloud – six kilometres. The volcano is about 150km west of Denpasar airport in East Java, the main airport for those heading to Bali.
The volcano, Mount Raung, in East Java, Indonesia, started spewing ash into the air about a week ago, leaving tourists and residents in Bali and elsewhere stranded in multiple airports. The mountain began rumbling several weeks ago and on Friday began belching ash 12,000 feet into the air.
“We tell the airlines where it is and they make their own decisions about flying certain paths”, he said. “The loss of time is bad, but there’s little you can do about an erupting volcano”.
Evacuation of residents living near the volcano is still considered unnecessary, but the authorities are urging people to wear masks.
Volcanic eruptions can cause significant and lengthy disruption to travel.
For a second day, many flights between Bali and Australia have been cancelled, stranding travellers.
However, Indonesia’s transport ministry also said that the re-opening of the airports would depend on Mount Raung’s activity, BBC reported.
Strong westerly winds have compounded the problem, prompting Indonesian aviation authorities to close local airports at Banyuwangi, Jember and Lombok. Barata said thousands of travelers were stranded.
Adding to the issues facing airports and airlines in Indonesia is the fact that tens of millions of the country’s Muslims travel during the end of Ramadan.
National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia had resumed operating some routes but cancelled all its flights to and from Bali.
Advertisement
“All passengers on rescheduled or cancelled flights can contact Jetstar to be provided with options to fly on alternative services”.
