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fter being closed for almost 43 hours, Bali'€™s Ngurah Rai International Airport reopened on Thursday afternoon after ash cleared from the sky following the recent eruption of Mount Barujari in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB).

Trikora Harjo, general manager of Ngurah Rai'€™s operator PT Angkasa Pura I, said the airport re-opened at 2:30 p.m. local time, and the decision to re-open the airport was based on information from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) and from the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) in Darwin, Australia.

'€œThey informed us that the wind was now taking volcanic ash to the south, away from Bali,'€ Trikora said

Flight operations could not proceed immediately, however, because it took the airport at least two hours to get ready.

'€œWe have to clean the apron and the runways. Airlines also need to clean their planes,'€ he said.

Angkasa Pura also needed to prepare general airport systems including goods inspections and immigration checks.

After all had been cleared, an Air India flight became the first flight to take off from the airport, taking off at around 5:30 p.m. The Boeing 747 aircraft was carrying Indian Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari and his entourage after the flight to end his four-day official visit was cancelled on Wednesday.

The airport was closed on Tuesday leaving more than 6,000 domestic and international passengers stranded. Authorities initially decided to close the airport until Friday due to intensified volcanic activity at Mt. Barujari, located inside the caldera of Mt. Rinjani.

Thousands of passengers welcomed the reopening with a sense of relief. '€œFinally, after waiting all day, we can go home,'€ Hugh Millard, a Malaysia Airlines passenger flying home to London, was quoted by Antara news agency as saying.

Many tourists, however, appeared restless and frustrated with the lack of information.

'€œWe have no money. We have been here for two months,'€ Ciaran William and his friend Sybil Soan of London said while sitting together in the airport'€™s departure terminal.

Meanwhile, at least 11 villages in North Lombok Regency, NTB, were reportedly blanketed by volcanic ash from Mt. Barujari.

NTB Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) head Azhar said the villages had been covered by ash when the eruption spewed ash as high as 2.5 kilometers into the air and wind shifted to the west on Wednesday. '€œBut today, [the eruption is] decreasing and the wind direction has moved south,'€ Azhar said on Thursday.

Although, the eruption is decreasing, the Lombok International Airport in Pujut district, Central Lombok regency, remained closed on Thursday.

NTB Transportation Information and Communication Agency head Agung Hartono said the airport, which was closed on Wednesday, would be reopened on Friday morning. He added that 45 flights at the airport had been canceled.

Separately, head of the Rinjani National Park Center Agus Budiono said his office had declared a level two alert status and made sure that no climbers were on the mountain.

'€œLevel II status means there is no permitted activity within a four kilometer radius from the eruption. Our officers were patrolling the area to get climbers down off the mountain,'€ Agus said.