Bali airport closed for second day as eruption continues

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November 28, 2017
Bali Mount Agung eruption
Mount Agung .

Indonesian authorities are keeping Bali’s Denpasar Airport closed for another 24 hours because of the ash cloud associated with the eruption of Mount Agung and will review the situation at 7am local time on Wednesday.

Yesterday airlines canceled 441 flights disrupting the travel plans for 59,000 travelers and today is expected to be a repeat of those numbers.

Ash cloud graphic for Mount Agung on Bali
Latest Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre graphics for the ash cloud for Mount Agung

Travellers are telling AirlineRatings.com that disrupted passengers are now being offered flights on Saturday at the earliest.

Airline policy globally is if your flight does not take-off you are put to the back of the queue for the next available.

Stranded passengers – particularly the elderly – are also now worried about running out of medications.

Live stream of Mount Agung on Bali
Screen grab of live feed of Bali volcano

Live feed of Volcano eruption

The forecast for Wednesday is the current wind conditions to remain the same – from the north-east, blowing the ash cloud over the airport and Denpasar.

Ash is falling at Denpasar Airport and once the ash cloud is clear the airport itself will have to be cleared of ash.

Passengers are urged to check airline’s websites.

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Winds at this time year are from the north-east to north-west, meaning that the ash cloud could go from being blown across the airport to be pushed away and thus clear.

Complicating matters is the heavy cloud, which makes it difficult to see the ash cloud and the limited range of some planes that operate the flights.

The alert level for aviation was raised to red by the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre on Saturday.