Get out while you can: Bali reopens airport closed by volcanic ash cloud that has left 120,000 travellers trapped… but warns a giant eruption could still be imminent
Bali main airport is set to re-open on Wednesday after a three day closure
Flights grounded since Monday due to ash spewing from Mount Agung
More than 120,000 tourists are said to be stranded on the paradise island
Authorities have warned that if wind changes, then airport will shut again
SARA MALM
DAILYMAIL.COM
29 November 2017
Bali’s international airport will re-open today after a nearly three-day shutdown due to activity from the volcano Mount Agung.
Ngurah Rai airport can now be open after the ash coming from Mount Agung shifted direction, allowing flights to take off and land safely.
More than 120,000 tourists are reportedly stranded on the tourist island after a spike in activity at Mount Agung has seen hundreds of flights grounded since Monday.
But airport officials cautioned that the only direct international gateway to the tropical island could be shuttered again if winds change direction and towering columns of smoke and ash pose a risk to flights.
‘The airspace will be re-opened’ at 3pm local time (7am GMT), Bali Ngurah Rai airport spokesman Arie Ahsanurrohim told AFP. ‘We are going to constantly monitor the situation on the ground,’ he added.
Ash is dangerous for planes as it makes runways slippery and can be sucked into their engines.
Mount Agung could produce a major eruption at any moment, officials have warned.
Tens of thousands have already fled their homes around the volcano – which last erupted in 1963, killing around 1,600 people – but as many as 100,000 will likely be forced to leave, disaster agency officials have said.
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