The Bali International Airport resumed operations on Wednesday after a three-day closure due to ash scattered in the atmosphere from an erupting volcano, reassuring about 120,000 stranded tourists on the island.
The airport reopened at 15:00 local time (0700 GMT). “We continue to monitor the situation on the ground continuously,” said Arui Ashanorheim, spokesman for Ngora Rai Airport in Bali. He did not rule out a new closure if the wind was not favorable.
The airport would remain closed until at least Thursday morning, but favorable winds changed the direction of ash.
Until now, the ashes of the volcano on the Indonesian island were considered dangerous to the aircraft. This has left a large number of tourists stranded.
The more than 3,000-meter-high Mount Ogong, some 75 kilometers (yards) from the well-known tourist regions of Kuta and Seminyak, has been producing thick columns of dark smoke for a few days and fears a major eruption at any moment.
– Paradise Island –
Wednesday canceled 440 flights. About 120,000 passengers were stranded on Wednesday in the island, which is known for its beautiful beaches and attracts tourists from all over the world.
Tens of thousands of people have so far fled their homes around the volcano, east of the island. Officials from the Natural Disaster Management Agency said the number of people who left their homes or had to leave could be around 100,000.
The last eruption of Mount Agung dates back to 1963, killing about 1,600 people. A number of residents were not evacuated in time.
Experts note that the recent activity of the volcano corresponds to the activity observed during the great eruption that happened 54 years ago. About 1 billion tons of debris flew into space, reaching as far as Jakarta, 1,000 kilometers away, causing darkness that led to global warming of 0.3 degrees per year.
“Small revolutions are going on continuously, but a bigger explosion is still possible,” said the scientist at the Indonesian Volcanology Agency E Gedi Swantika.
“The activity is still high, and the level of preparedness is still at its highest,” he said.
– safe area –
The billboards labeled “Volcanic Zone, Danger, No Entry” warn residents and passers-by of potential hazards related to the activity of Mount Agung. Authorities set up a safe area about 10 kilometers around the volcano.
Another result of the volcanic activity was the closure of the Lombok International Airport, the neighboring island of Bali, and its reopening in recent days. It was open Wednesday.
Around 100 buses were used to transport stranded travelers to as many places as they could leave, such as Surabaya, East Java, which is about 13 hours away from Bali and the ship, or also the capital of Jakarta, west Java.
Most of the tourists stranded in Bali are Chinese, followed by Australians, Indians, Britons and Japanese, the local immigration office said.
Agung is one of 129 volcanoes in the Southeast Asian archipelago, located on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where plate collisions cause frequent earthquakes and large volcanic activity. It began to be wasted in September.
Some 140,000 people were evacuated in the suburbs, but several returned to their homes in late October.
Last week, Aghong tossed black smoke columns into space twice, in what experts called a volcanic eruption accompanied by a sudden and violent outburst of water vapor that could trigger a major eruption.