Volcano stops more Bali flights

A VOLCANO on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali erupted for the second time in a week, disrupting international flights even as authorities said the island remains safe.

The ash column from Mount Agung rose 1500m following an eruption that began about 5.30pm Saturday and continued for several hours, coating nearby villages in a thin layer of ash, said Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency.

Ash clouds were moving to the southwest, away from the island’s international airport, which remained open, said disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

The volcano’s alert status has not been increased from the second highest level.

Australian airline Jetstar cancelled nine flights to or from Bali Saturday evening and said it was delaying several Sunday flights to give more time to monitor the situation.

Yesterday, Jetstar said it had resumed flights to Bali after its senior pilots had assessed the volcanic ash conditions and found them improved and safe to fly in. It was running 18 flights between Bali and Australia or Singapore yesterday, while three flights from Townsville, Singapore and Perth remained cancelled.

Mr Sutopo said that in total, eight international flights to and 13 departing from Bali were cancelled. He said about 2000 passengers were stranded at the airport.

The volcano’s last major eruption in 1963 killed about 1100 people.

Authorities say anyone still in the exclusion zone around the volcano should leave the area.