Bali airport closed, flights cancelled for a second day after massive volcanic eruptions

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Bali airport closed, flights cancelled for a second day after massive volcanic eruptions

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volcano bali eruption

REUTERS/Johannes P. Christo

Glowing light of hot lava is seen during the eruption of Mount Agung as seen from Amed in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, November 27, 2017.

Bali's Denpasar Airport will remain closed on Tuesday.

The airport will be closed for a further 24 hours, until 7am local time on Wednesday when conditions will be reassessed again, the spokesman for the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management said

Flights in and out of Bali were cancelled on Monday, following volcanic eruptions over the weekend that sent ash 13,000 feet (4,000 meters) into the sky, disrupting air travel.

Ahead of Tuesday's closure announcement, Virgin Australia said their flights between Bali and Australia would be cancelled until after Tuesday. The airline said they were closely monitoring the volcano's activity, and that the aviation color code is currently red, indicating an "imminent" eruption. 

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Customers with upcoming Jetstar flights out of Australia were offered to change their flight destination to alternate cities in Asia, change their travel dates, or cancel their booking to receive a travel credit voucher.

Emirates said they would suspend flights to and from Bali until further notice. They expected flights to resume as normal on December 2nd.

 

 

On Monday, 59,000 passengers on 445 cancelled flights - including 196 international flights - were affected, the airport said in a statement.

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Ash had been confirmed on the ground at Denpasar Airport, according to Australia's Bureau of Meteorology.

The Indonesian government said on Twitter that it would offer free accommodation to stranded passengers who booked hotels through the International Hotel and Restaurant Association while the Bali airport remains closed.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency also said that as many as 100,000 locals in 22 affected villages needed to leave the expanded danger zone around the volcano but that less than half that number have left, Associated Press reported.