Tourists stranded in Bali
Bali reopens airport after volcanic eruption temporarily grounds flights.
Denpasar: Bali opened its international airport after a volcanic eruption temporarily grounded flights, stranding thousands of tourists on the holiday island
Ngurah Rai airport began operating around 2.30pm, about 12 hours after it closed in response to Mt Agung belching smoke and ash.
Ash is dangerous for planes because it makes runways slippery and can suffocate engines.
A change in wind direction pushed the ash away from Bali’s gateway, allowing flights to resume, an airport official said.
“The airport will operate for 24 hours straight to get flights back on schedule,” he added.
The morning closure sparked the cancellation of more than 300 flights to and from the tropical paradise with nearly 27,000 passengers affected, according to the airport.
About 400 local residents living near the rumbling volcano – about 75km from Bali’s tourist hub of Kuta – moved to evacuation centres.
A striking orange-red glow could be seen at the top of Agung’s crater after it shot plumes of thick smoke some 2,000m into the sky Thursday evening.
Authorities closed the airport after a pilot flying overhead found traces of volcanic ash over 7000m.
An eruption at Agung in November also stranded thousands and hit Bali’s tourism industry hard, the backbone of its economy.
Thousands fled to evacuation centres after last year’s eruption.
Australian visitor Rod Bird came early to the airport only to be told his flight back to Perth had been cancelled for the second time.
An earlier flight on AirAsia was called off before the airport was shuttered early yesterday morning.
“They told us the volcano is going off so they rebooked us for this morning and we got here at 5.00am only to be turned away again.
“So we’ve had two cancelled flights,” Bird said.
“Well it’s Bali, these things happen and we are fine with it. We just miss the kids,” he added.
Thousands were stranded at the airport or nearby hotels yesterday, but it was not immediately clear how many tourists were unable to leave the island. — AFP