Dozens of flights to and from Indonesia’s resort island of Bali were cancelled on Wednesday, according to authorities and the island’s airport, after a volcano in the archipelago’s east erupted, shooting an ash tower 10 kilometres into the sky.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a 1,584-metre (5,197-foot) volcano on the tourist island of Flores, erupted on Tuesday, with authorities raising its alert status to the highest level of a four-tiered system.
“Due to volcano activity of Lewatobi Laki-Laki in East Nusa Tenggara, several flights at I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport are cancelled,” airport operator Angkasa Pura Indonesia told AFP in a statement.
The flights cancelled included Jetstar and Virgin Australia flights to cities across Australia, with Air India, Air New Zealand, Singapore’s Tigerair and China’s Juneyao Airlines also cancelling flights “due to volcano”, Bali’s international airport website said.
Jetstar confirmed cancellations to and from Bali in a statement on its website Wednesday, adding that some afternoon flights would be delayed until ash cleared.
“Forecasts show the ash cloud is expected to clear by later tonight. As a result, this afternoon’s flights will be delayed to operate later this evening,” it said.
Several domestic AirAsia flights leaving for popular tourist hotspot Labuan Bajo on Flores were also cancelled.
A Bali airport customer service agent told AFP the aviation hub was still operating normally despite the cancelled flights.
“It depends on the route and also the airline,” the agent, who declined to give her name, said.
Ongoing tremors
Volcanic ash rained down on several villages around Lewotobi Laki-Laki and forced the evacuation of at least one village late Tuesday, the country’s disaster mitigation agency said.
It added tremors were still being detected, which indicated ongoing volcanic activity.
The geology agency said residents and tourists should avoid carrying out any activities within at least seven kilometres of the volcano’s crater.
It warned of the possibility of hazardous lahar floods –- a type of mud or debris flow of volcanic materials –- if heavy rain occurs, particularly for communities near rivers.
There were no immediate reports of damages or casualties.
In November, the volcano erupted multiple times, killing nine people, cancelling scores of international flights to the tourist island of Bali, and forcing thousands to evacuate.
Laki-Laki, which means “man” in Indonesian, is twinned with a calmer volcano peak named after the Indonesian word for “woman”.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire.”
