Published on : Friday, June 29, 2018
Mount Agung shot a tower of smoke and ash some 2,000 metres (6,500 feet) into the sky Thursday evening. The airport was closed early Friday after a pilot flying overhead detected traces of volcanic ash as high as 23,000 feet. Ash is dangerous for planes as it makes runways slippery and can be sucked into their engines.
Bali’s main international gateway will be closed until at least Friday evening, according to officials, who added that two other domestic airports were also shut.
The fresh activity threatens to create travel chaos after an Agung eruption in November stranded thousands and pounded Bali’s lucrative tourism industry and the wider economy.
Australian visitor Rod Bird came early to the airport only to be told his flight back to Perth had been cancelled for the second time. An earlier flight on AirAsia was called off before the airport was shuttered early Friday morning.
“They told us the volcano is going off so they rebooked us for this morning and we got here at 5:00 am only to be turned away again. So we’ve had two cancelled flights,” Bird said.
Thousands were stranded at the airport or hotels Friday, but it was not immediately clear how many tourists were unable to leave the island. Despite the eruption, Agung’s status remained on alert status, the second highest danger warning.
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