JAKARTA, June 18: Air travel to Indonesia’s popular resort island of Bali has been severely disrupted following a powerful eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki in East Nusa Tenggara province, officials confirmed on Wednesday. Several international flights were cancelled or delayed, and the Maumere airport was shut down due to heavy volcanic ash in the skies.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki erupted on Tuesday, sending a towering ash plume 11 kilometers (6.84 miles) into the atmosphere. Indonesia’s volcanology agency immediately raised the alert level to its highest. A second eruption occurred on Wednesday morning, emitting another ash cloud rising about 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) high, further impacting air travel and prompting precautionary evacuations.
The eruption forced airlines including Singapore Airlines and its subsidiary Scoot to cancel flights between Singapore, Bali, and Lombok. Australian budget airline JetStar also grounded several flights to Bali and warned of potential delays throughout the day. Qantas and other carriers are closely monitoring ash cloud forecasts, which are expected to improve later in the evening.
The Bali International Airport reported cancellations of several incoming and outgoing flights, including those from India, Singapore, and Australia. Meanwhile, the government ordered the closure of Fransiskus Xaverius Seda Airport in Maumere from Wednesday through Thursday, citing passenger safety concerns.
Local authorities evacuated dozens of residents from two villages near the volcano. “The streets are blanketed in thick ash, gravel, and sand,” said Avi Hallan from the regional disaster mitigation agency, noting that no casualties have been reported so far.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki last erupted in May. Indonesia, located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, is highly prone to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes due to its position atop several active tectonic plates.
