With Lombok’s Praya Airport closed due to lingering ash from the eruption of Mt. Barujari, more and more people appear to be opting to travel from Lombok by boat via Bali’s Padang Bai.
The amount of passengers passing through the port has doubled, according to Rudi Susanto, Port of Padang Bai supervisor.
“There’s an increase in passengers from the Port of Lembar (Lombok) to the Port of Padang Bali. From Padang Bai to Lembar, the numbers are still normal, even quiet now,” Susanto told Tribun Bali on Tuesday.
Susanto says the surge towards Bali has been going on since Thursday and is still happening through today.
On a normal day, there are usually 100 passengers crossing from Lembar to Padang Bai, on average, he explained. But since the eruption, last Wednesday (11/4) there were 259 people, 452 on Thursday, 911 on Friday, 639 on Saturday, and 313 on Monday, Susanto said.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
