Tourists, authorities feel the heat as Bali volcano keeps airport shut

KARANGASEM (Reuters) – Indonesia on Tuesday extended the closure of the airport on Bali as ash from a volcano swept the island, stranding thousands of tourists while authorities tried to persuade villagers to leave their homes near the erupting mountain.

“Aircraft flight channels are covered with volcanic ash,” the Transportation Ministry said in a statement, citing aviation navigation authorities.

Bali’s airport, about 60 km. (37 miles) from the Mount Agung volcano, will be closed until 7 a.m. on Wednesday, it said.

Frustration at the country’s second-busiest airport was starting to boil over, with an estimated 2,000 people attempting to get refunds or reschedule flights.

“There are thousands of people stranded here at the airport,” said Nitin Sheth, a tourist from India.

“They have to go to some other airport and they are trying to do that, but the government or authorities here are not helping.” Others were more relaxed. “No, there’s not a lot of information... very little. It’s all right. We’re on holidays so it doesn’t matter. We don’t know what’s going to happen but we can get back to the bar and have another drink,” said Matthew Radix from Perth.

Ten alternate airports have been prepared for airlines to divert inbound flights, including in neighboring provinces, the airport operator said, adding it was helping people make alternative bookings and providing food and entertainment for stranded travelers.

The airport on Lombok island, to the east of Bali, had been reopened, authorities said, as wind blew ash westward, toward the southern coast of Java island.

Mount Agung towers over eastern Bali to a height of just over 3,000 meters (9,800 feet). Its last eruption in 1963 killed more than 1,000 people and razed several villages when it spewed out fast-moving currents of hot gas and volcanic matter, ash, lava and rocky debris.

On Tuesday, however, life went on largely as normal in villages surrounding Agung, with residents offering prayers as the volcano sent columns of ash and smoke into the sky.

Some villagers who fled in September, when the alert was last raised to the highest level, have gone home despite government warnings.