Several Flights from Bali to Java Cancelled

Kuta (Antara Bali) - Flights from the resort island of Bali to several destinations in Java were cancelled on Saturday in the wake of eruption of Mount Kelud on Thursday night.

"Airports in Surabaya and Yogyakarta are still closed," co-general manager of the I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport I Gusti Ngurah Ardita said on Saturday.

The cancelled flights included those of Lion Air to Bandung with flight number JT-905, Wings Air to Malang with flight numbers IW-1840 and IW-1823, Garuda Indonesia to Yogyakarta with flight number GA-253, Wings Air to Surabaya with flight number IW-1815, and Lion Air to Bandung with flight number JT-961.

The cancelled flights were not to have taken off from the I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport between 01.00 p.m. and 03.30 p.m. local time.

The Air Asia flight which was originally planned to depart at 08.55 a.m. for Bandung has been rescheduled.

"We continue to ask for confirmation from the relevant airports and monitor the notice given by airmen," he said.

Mount Kelud in Kediri district, East Java, erupted on Thursday night, leading to a temporary closure of seven airports and one airstrip on the Java Island.

The head of Data and Information Center of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, said in a statement on Saturday that the seven airports and one airstrip remain closed on Saturday, as of 10:00 am local time (GMT +7), due to volcanic ash from Mount Kelud.

The airports are Juanda (Surabaya), Adi Sumarmo (Solo), Adi Sucipto (Yogyakarta) Abdulrahman Saleh (Malang), Ahmad Yani (Semarang), Husein Sastranegara (Bandung) besides the Tunggul Wulung airstrip in Cilacap. (INE/M038)