Dozens of Flights Canceled at Ngurah Rai Airport Following Lewotobi Eruption
I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki
Eruption
Volcano
Flight
Aviation
Tourist
Bali
MANGUPURA, NusaBali.com – Bali's I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport experienced a significant rise in flight cancellations on Thursday afternoon (November 14, 2024), due to the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara. The volcanic ash carried by the wind disrupted air routes and posed potential safety risks to aviation.
Ahmad Syaugi Shahab, the General Manager of I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport, confirmed that as of Thursday morning at 03:00 WITA, there were 346 scheduled flights, consisting of 166 domestic and 180 international flights.
However, volcanic ash caused 41 cancellations in the morning, including 9 domestic and 32 international flights. By 14:00 WITA, the number of cancellations increased to 52 flights, with 11 domestic and 41 international flights impacted.
"Domestic flight cancellations included six departures, such as Indonesia Air Asia's route to Labuan Bajo, Trans Nusa's route to Cengkareng, and Citilink Indonesia's route to Ujung Pandang," said Ahmad Syaugi.
"Five domestic arrivals were also canceled, including Trans Nusa's route from Manado and Indonesia Air Asia's route from Labuan Bajo."
International flight cancellations included 22 departures and 19 arrivals from various cities, including Singapore, Manila, Sydney, Melbourne, Hong Kong, and Doha.
The day before, on Wednesday (November 13), 135 flights were affected by volcanic ash, with 115 cancellations and 20 cancellations due to operational reasons. Despite this, 205 flights, or about 60% of the daily flight movements, continued operating.
"Ngurah Rai Airport remains operational, although some airlines canceled flights for safety reasons," Ahmad Syaugi said. Nine out of the 12 domestic airlines continued operating, including AirAsia, Batik Air, and Garuda. For international flights, 28 out of the 42 airlines operating at Ngurah Rai Airport continued flying, including Singapore Airlines, Emirates, and Qantas.
According to satellite weather imagery from Himawari, the direction of the volcanic ash spread was moving southwest and northwest since Wednesday night, moving away from Ngurah Rai Airport. PT Angkasa Pura I, in collaboration with the airport community, is continuously monitoring the situation and hopes that conditions will improve soon.
"We have also set up helpdesks at the international and domestic terminals to assist passengers," added Ahmad Syaugi.*ris
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