Bali Airport`s Closure Again Extended

Denpasar (Antara Bali) - The Indonesian authorities have again extended the closure of the I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali by another 24 hours due to the eruption of Mount Agung.

The airport operator has decided to extend the closure of the I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport from 7 a.m. local time on Nov 29 for 24 hours, Arie Ahsanurrohim, a spokesman of the I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport office of state-run airport operator PT Angkasa Pura I, said here, Wednesday.

"We conduct an evaluation of the latest developments on the volcanic ash situation and wind direction every six hours," he said.

Based on the meteorological observation by the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in Darwin, volcanic ash is drifting in the south and southwest direction towards the airport at a speed of 15 knots.

Despite the paper test result showing no volcanic ash at the airport so far, but ash from the mount can be found in the air space around the I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport.

Notice to Airmen No. A-4298/17 was issued by the state-run air navigation company, AirNav Indonesia.

The airport has been shut down since 7:15 a.m. local time on Monday due to the mount`s eruption on Saturday.

At least 445 flights have been canceled, affecting the travel plans of some 89 thousand passengers.

The 3,142-meter-high volcano in Indonesia`s tourism resort island has been rumbling since August 2017.

The government has set an exclusion zone within a 10-kilometer radius from the mount`s peak. (WDY)