After a nearly 12 hour shutdown following an eruption from Mount Agung, Bali’s international airport has reopened.
Ngurah Rai Airport resumed operations at about 2:30pm on Friday afternoon, ahead of schedule. This morning, when airport authorities announced that the airport would close at 3am, they originally said that the airport would reopen at 7pm Friday evening, pending a review of conditions.
I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport Bali is REOPEN is June 29th 2018 of 14.30 LT (local time). pic.twitter.com/48dTbm5iaz
— Sutopo Purwo Nugroho (@Sutopo_PN) June 29, 2018
Changing wind directions blowing ash fall away from the airport, which lies about 75 kilometers from the Karangasem-area volcano, allowed flights to run again.
“The airport will operate for 24 hours straight to get flights back on schedule,” AFP quoted an airport official as saying.
However, even though the airport is up and running again, all airlines might not be resuming regular flight schedules yet. Passengers are advised to check for updates from their airlines about specific flight statuses.
This morning’s shutdown grounded more than 300 flights, affecting around 27,000 passengers, according to the official.
The call was made to close the airport when a pilot report detected traces of volcanic ash as high as 23,000 feet.
Before stirring back to life last year, Mount Agung last erupted in 1963, killing around 1,600 people.
