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Lombok airport remains closed until Sunday
A passenger looks at a flight information monitor with canceled flights at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali on Wednesday
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A passenger looks at a flight information monitor with canceled flights at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali, Indonesia Wednesday. (AP/Firdia Lisnawati) (AP/Firdia Lisnawati)
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span class="inline inline-center">A passenger looks at a flight information monitor with canceled flights at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali on Wednesday. (AP/Firdia Lisnawati)
The closure of Lombok International Airport in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) has been extended to Sunday following the latest update from the airport authorities.
National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia announced that all of its flights to and from Lombok would be canceled until Sunday.
'The closure of Lombok airport will last until Sunday. Currently, the mountain [Mount Barujari] is still releasing volcanic ash with a fluctuating direction of movement to the south and the west,' said Garuda Indonesia vice-president of corporate communications, Benny S. Butarbutar, in a press release on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Garuda's flights to and from Denpasar in Bali and Banyuwangi in East Java resumed their normal schedules Thursday night.
'We have operated up to 31 flights to Bali and Banyuwangi following the opening of Ngurah Rai and Blimbingsari airports,' said Benny.
Due to the eruption of Mt. Barujari, situated inside the caldera of Mt. Rinjani, on Tuesday morning, the carrier canceled 279 flights in Denpasar, Banyuwangi and Lombok as of Saturday.
According to the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), the volcanic activity of Mt. Barujari was still quite high on Saturday. Thick white smoke with an elevation of between 1,000 and 1,500 meters can be seen from the surveillance post in Mt. Rinjani.
Currently the mountain's alert level remains at 'waspada' (caution), or level 2.
Although an evacuation is not yet necessary, NTB Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) has prepared emergency shelter tents in nine locations in North Lombok, West Lombok and Central Lombok.
The agency has also distributed 100,000 face masks all over the island of Lombok. (kes)
