The closure of Lombok International Airport has been extended until Tuesday due to ongoing volcanic activity at Mount Rinjani in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, an official said on Monday.

Lombok airport spokesman Gede Eka Sandi said that this would be the sixth closure since eruptions at Mount Barujaru, located in the caldera of Mt. Rinjani, had intensified in late October and disrupted flight operations at the airport.

"We'€™ve extended the closure of Lombok airport ['€¦] until Tuesday at 8:45 a.m.," he said as quoted by newsportal kompas.com.

The closure has paralyzed all flights coming and going from Lombok.

Gede said that there was no information yet on when the airport would resume full operation.

Airport authorities asked all passengers to contact their respective airlines to reschedule or seek refunds for their tickets.

Thousands of passengers were stranded last week as authorities closed three airports: Lombok, Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali and Blimbingsari Airport in Banyuwangi, East Java, for safety reasons as volcanic ash from the Lombok volcano blanketed the skies.

Ngurah Rai and Blimbingsari airports re-eopened last week and resumed flight operations.

Mt. Rinjani is among 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia. The archipelago is prone to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a series of volcanoes and fault lines around the Pacific Basin. (ami/arn)

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