“There was still no official announcement from Ngurah Rai International Airport authorities on the reopening of flights serving the Denpasar–Labuan Bajo route and vice versa,” Komodo Airport head Djarot Subianto said on Wednesday.

Subianto said he had proposed that national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia divert its Denpasar-Labuan Bajo flights to Banyuwangi, East Java, so that people who wanted to travel to Denpasar could do so by land.  

“However, this is the authority of the Garuda Indonesia management on flying their planes that are still parked at Komodo Airport,” he added.

Meanwhile, Lombok International Airport in West Nusa Tenggara began to operate on Tuesday morning after it was closed for several hours on Monday evening.

Volcanic ash that spread after the eruption on Saturday afternoon resulted in the closure of Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali and the Lombok airport as well as the cancellation of hundreds of flights.

“Since we reopened the airport on Tuesday morning, the airport has operated as normal. Only 12 flights to Bali still cannot operate since the closing of the Ngurah Rai airport,” Lombok International Airport general manager I Gusti Ngurah Ardita said on Wednesday.  

Ardita said intensive coordination on monitoring the volcano and evaluating the situation was underway. (hol/ebf)