British tourists stranded as volcano hits flights
UK TOURISTS stranded in Bali are being advised to avoid exclusion zones after an erupting volcano caused the island’s international airport to close.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office also urged holidaymakers to contact their travel company and monitor local media reports in an update to its travel advice.
Indonesian authorities have issued the most serious level of alert for Mount Agung, which has been hurling clouds of ash into the atmosphere since the weekend.
They reported that the volcano’s explosions are being heard more than seven miles away, and a larger eruption is possible leading to the evacuation of 100,000 people. An exclusion zone has been created about six miles from the crater.
Ash led to the island’s Ngurah Rai Airport being closed yesterday until at least 7am local time today, causing the cancellation of 445 flights.
Around 330,000 British nationals visit Indonesia every year, with many heading to Bali for its beaches, green landscape and Hindu culture.
Sarah Murphy, 40, and her friend Tina Lucke, 31, both from Brighton, East Sussex, were due to fly home from the island on Monday but their Emirates flight was cancelled and they do not know when they will be able to leave.
The pair, who were able to extend their hotel stay in Padang Padang, saw smoke wafting from the top of the volcano when they visited a neighbouring island on Thursday.
Ms Murphy, a Youth Hostel Association manager, told the Press Association: “The volcano is amazing to see. We honestly did not think too much about it and just imagined if it was to erupt it would be after we had left.
“There is not much we can do about it so I guess we just need to keep hoping they open the airport. I’m not worried about my safety at all at the moment as noone else seems to be that worried, so it’s quite comforting in a way.
“The locals seem pretty relaxed about it all. I have a friend who lives out here and she says they have been preparing for months now. Apparently if it does erupt the electricity will get turned off as it reacts with the ash.”
Bali is a popular destination during Christmas and New Year, but November is not a high season for tourism.
UK travel trade organisation Abta said there “will only be a relatively small number of UK holidaymakers on the island at this time of year”.
But it warned that volcanic ash clouds could result in further airport closures.
“Anyone due to travel to the region imminently should check with their travel provider or airline to establish if their holiday or flight is affected,” an Abta spokeswoman said.
In 2010, an eruption of a volcano in Iceland produced an ash cloud that caused a week of aviation chaos – with more than 100,000 flights cancelled across the UK and the rest of the world.
Bali’s Mount Agung is around 44 miles from the nearest major tourist hotspot of Kuta.
Travel firm Kuoni said in a statement all of its customers are in tourist areas which are safe and unaffected by volcanic activity and well away from the evacuation zone.
Some Kuoni holidaymakers are due to leave the island on Friday.