Dozens of Bali flights canceled after Indonesia volcano erupts
Bali’s Ngurah Rai airport said 32 flights in and out of the island had been canceled.
Bali’s Ngurah Rai airport said 32 flights in and out of the island had been canceled.
SIKKA (AFP) — Dozens of flights to and from Indonesia’s resort island of Bali were canceled on Wednesday, authorities said, after a volcano in the archipelago’s east erupted, shooting an ash tower 10 kilometers into the sky.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a 1,584-meter volcano on the tourist island of Flores, erupted on Tuesday, with authorities raising its alert status to the highest level of a four-tiered system.
“Due to volcano activity of Lewatobi Laki-Laki in East Nusa Tenggara, several flights at I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport are cancelled,” airport operator Angkasa Pura Indonesia told Agence France-Presse in a statement.
The flights canceled included Jetstar and Virgin Australia services to cities across Australia, with Air India, Air New Zealand, Singapore’s Tigerair and China’s Juneyao Airlines also cancelling flights “due to volcano,” Bali’s international airport website said.
Jetstar confirmed cancellations to and from Bali in a statement on its website Wednesday.
“Forecasts show the ash cloud is expected to clear by later tonight. As a result, this afternoon’s flights will be delayed to operate later this evening,” it said.
Several domestic AirAsia flights leaving for popular tourist hotspot Labuan Bajo on Flores were also canceled.
Bali’s Ngurah Rai airport said 32 flights in and out of the island had been canceled on domestic and international routes.
An airport customer service agent told AFP the aviation hub was still operating normally despite the canceled flights.
“It depends on the route and also the airline,” the agent, who declined to give her name, said.
The Fransiskus Xaverius Seda Airport, a relatively smaller airport in nearby Maumere on Flores island was closed until Thursday morning, its authorities said on social media.
