By Ainur Rohmah
JAKARTA
Dozens of flights to the Indonesian resort island of Bali were canceled Friday amid the temporary closure of airports with flights affected by the eruption of Mount Raung.
A co-general manager of Angkasa Pura, a transport department body managing airports, told Anadolu Agency that the closure of nearby airports had went into effect Thursday night and could extend until Friday night.
"We are still compiling the number of airlines that can not operate Friday because of Mount Raung’s eruption,” I Gusti Ngurah Ardita said. “We expect dozens of flights will be canceled or rescheduled."
Volcanic activity at 3,332-meter (10,930-feet) high Mount Raung in East Java province began increasing in late June, disrupting local and international flights as it spewed ash up to 5,000 meters into the air.
According to Ardita, 28 domestic and international flights to and from Bali were canceled Thursday, while another 15 were delayed or rescheduled by airlines.
Ardita told Anadolu Agency that the closures were due to ash from Raung “disturbing the flight security" of Bali flights.
J.A. Barata, transport ministry spokesperson, had announced late Thursday the closure of Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali, two airports in East Java and two others on Lombok island, located east of the volcano.
Angkasa Pura is currently coordinating with airlines to handle the situation as thousands of passengers are unable to travel upon the recommendation of Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency.
The agency's spokesperson, Harry Djatmiko, told Anadolu Agency that the volcanic ash was headed southeast Friday, reaching waters off Bali, with the alert level raised to 3 out of a scale of 4.
