Flights From Bali Abroad Increase In Oct Despite Mount Eruption

Denpasar (Antara Bali) - The Bali office of Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported that the number of flights en route from the I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport abroad increased by 2.23 percent in Oct this year.

In Oct last year, some 2,911 airlines were departed from the airport, but this year the number has raised to 2,976 flights amid the Mount Agung's high warning level IV, according to the head of Bali statistics agency, I Gede Nyoman Subadri, when contacted here on Sunday.

"However the number of passengers declined by 10.66 percent from 552,726 in Sept 2017 to 493,793 in Oct this year," Subadri said.

Meanwhile, the number of cargo sent from the airport also has dropped by 10.68 percent from 9.97 tons to 8.90 tons in Oct.

Despite the Mount Agung's critical status in Oct 2017, the number of foreign tourists visiting the province raised by 7.61 percent compared to last year. However if compared with Sept 2017, the number has declined by 15.52 percent.

Subadri explained that five top destinations taken by the passengers including Australia, Malaysia, China, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

But, the number of passengers departed to Qatar shows an increase by 60.22 percent.

"For flights en route to Australia, the number raised by 2.79 percent, followed by Malaysia with 70.78 percent, and China 67.83 percent," Subadri noted.

On the other hand, flights en route to Singapore and Hong Kong have declined by 0.42 percent and 8.21 percent respectively.

During Oct, the the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry's Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) has downgraded the alert status of Mount Agung from the highest warning level IV to the second highest III.

However, the PVMBG reevaluated the warning status of Mount Agung, and re-raised the warning status to the level IV because of the two times phreatic eruptions occurred in Dec. (WDY)