At least twenty flights and outputs of Bali, in Indonesia, were canceled after the eruption of a volcano located a few hundred kilometers east, the island’s International Airport announced Wednesday. Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a two-spike volcano located on Florès’s tourist island, projected a large column of ashes in the sky on Tuesday, according to the authorities, which raised the alert level to its maximum.
Airlines Jetstar and Virgin Australia canceled their flights to Australian cities. Air India, Air New Zealand, Tigerair (Singapore) and Juneyao Airlines (China) also suspended the “due to the volcano” links, can be read on the website of the Bali International Airport. The airport “still works normally, but” it depends on the route and the airline, “a customer service agent told AFP, who did not want to give his identity.
The Jetstar company has confirmed cancellations at its destination and Bali in a press release published on Wednesday on its website, and added that some afternoon flights would be delayed until the ashes dissipate. “According to the forecasts, the ash cloud should be dissipated later at night (Wednesday, note of the editor). Therefore, the flights scheduled for this afternoon will be postponed later at night,” the Australian company said at low cost, a subsidiary of Qantas and based in Singapore.
Several interior flights of the Airasia company have also been canceled for Labuan Bajo airport, on the island of Florès.
No damage and without victim
On Tuesday, no damage or victim was reported. The spokesman of the National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB), Abdul Muhari, said in a press release on Tuesday night that at least one village had to be evacuated, without giving the number of inhabitants, and that the ashes rains were informed in several villages outside the exception zone. Residents and tourists should avoid any activity within a radius of at least seven kilometers around the volcano crater, said the director of the Indonesian Geological Agency Muhammad Wafid.
In November, Lewotobi Laki-Laki had exploded several times, killing nine and forcing thousands of people to evacuate, and causing the cancellation of many international flights to Bali. Laki-Laki, which means “man” in Indonesian and 1,584 meters high, is linked to another quieter but larger volcano, 1,703 meters, Perempuan, which means “woman.” Indonesia, a vast archipelago, is experiencing a frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position in the “circle of fire” of the Pacific.
Source: BFM TV
