Lombok airport reopens as volcano alert status lowered

JAKARTA: Lombok’s international airport has resumed operations after flights were suspended for a day due to ash clouds from Bali’s Moung Agung volcano.

Indonesia’s airport operator Angkasa Pura yesterday said the airport reopened at 8.50am, after winds shifted the volcanic ash away from Lombok.

The Volcano Observation Notice for Aviation (Vona) alert code – which reflects conditions at or near a volcano for the purpose of air-travel safety during a volcanic eruption – was also lowered by a notch from red to orange, as the winds changed direction from south-west to south-east.

An orange Vona alert means a volcano “is exhibiting heightened unrest with increased likelihood of eruption, or volcanic eruption is underway with no or minor ash emission”, according to the World Organisation of Volcano Observatories.

This means both airports nearest to Mount Agung are now operating normally, allowing thousands of tourists stranded, mostly on Bali, to return home.

The evacuation of villages located in Karangasem, the regency in east Bali where Mount Agung lies, continues, with more than 48,600 residents are now living in shelters, said Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency ( BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Nugroho yesterday.

While the situation in Bali has shown signs of improvement, extreme weather conditions in Indonesia, led by Cyclone Cempaka, were wrecking havoc elsewhere across Java island.