Kuta (Antara Bali) - Five foreign airlines cancelled 19 flights to and from Bali, after the eruption of Mount Barujari located in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.
"It`s a technical matter for the airlines that have cancelled their flights to Bali. In fact, the airport has resumed its operations," General Manager of PT Angkasa Pura I of the Ngurah Rai International Airport Trikora Harjo, said here, Friday.
The five airlines were Emirates Airlines that cancelled three flights, AirAsia (1 flight), Malaysia Airlines (1), Jetstar (9 flights) and Virgin Australia (5 flights).
The state airport operator Angkasa Pura I has been coordinating with the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) to closely monitor the weather and the direction of the wind that might carry volcanic ash from Mount Barujari.
In the meantime, the Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali resumed operations on Thursday afternoon after volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Barujari in the neighboring Lombok island forced authorities to close it for two days.
"The Ngurah Rai Airport has been reopened after it was declared normal for operations," Chief of the Public Communication Center at the Transportation Ministry, J.A. Barata, said in a text message on Thursday.
The airport was reopened after an official notice was issued to airmen, he said.
The volcanic ash had forced the authorities to shut down the Ngurah Rai Airport, the Blimbingsari Airport in Banyuwangi, East Java, the Selaparang Airport and the Lombok Praya Airport in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, during the past two days.
The Selaparang International Airport authorities in Lombok said Friday that the airport would stay closed until Saturday for safety reasons because the volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Barujari has blanketed the airport.
According to the Transportation Ministry, a total of 1,180 flights have been cancelled due to the volcanic ash. The cancelled flights included 171 scrapped on Tuesday, 498 on Wednesday, 23 on Thursday and 102 on Friday.
Just on Thursday, Garuda Indonesia cancelled 209 flights to and from the affected airports, including Citilink Indonesia`s 24 flights and Air Asia`s 67 flights.
The Indonesian Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) and the Darwin-based Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) of Australia have put out information that the direction of the wind has changed and has blown the volcanic ash away from Bali. (WDY)
