Bali volcano - live updates: Airport reopens while Indonesia urges anyone in danger zone to get out
Authorities raise volcano warning to highest alert level
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Your support makes all the difference.The airport on the holiday island of Bali has reopened after tens of thousands of travellers were stranded for two days due to an erupting volcano, but Indonesia's President said the danger has not passed and urged anyone within the mountain's exclusion zone to get out "for the sake of their safety."
Mount Agung has been hurling clouds of white and dark gray ash about 7,600m (4.7 miles) into the atmosphere and lava is welling up in the crater, though it remains unclear how bad the current situation might get or how long it could last.
Indonesian authorities raised their warning for the volcano to the top level four alert earlier in the week, and told residents around the mountain to immediately evacuate, warning of an "imminent" risk of a larger eruption.
Airport spokesman Arie Ahsannurohim said the volcanic ash has drifted south and southeast, leaving clean space above the airport for planes to land and take off.
It has been closed since Monday morning, disrupting travel for tens of thousands of people.
The closure of the airport had stranded tens of thousands of travellers, affecting tourists already on Bali and people who were ready to fly to the island from abroad or within Indonesia.
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo ordered all concerned ministries and agencies, as well as the military and police, to help Bali's government deal with the disaster.
"I hope there will be no victims hit by the eruption," he said.
Authorities have told 100,000 people to leave homes nearest the volcano, though tens of thousands stayed because they felt safe or didn't want to abandon livestock.
Nearly 40,000 people are now staying in 225 shelters, according to the Disaster Mitigation Agency in Karangasem.
Mudflows have been seen on the mountain's slopes, and authorities warned more are possible, since it's the rainy season in Bali.
Mount Agung's last major eruption in 1963 killed about 1,100 people.
Indonesia sits on the "Pacific Ring of Fire" and has more than 120 active volcanoes.
Additional reporting by agencies
Bali's airport will be closed for a third day due to the erupting volcano.
Bali airport spokesman Arie Ahsannurohim said the airport would be closed until Thursday morning local time.
He said on Wednesday morning that volcanic ash has not been detected at the airport yet, but observations show it has reached an altitude of 25,000 feet and was being blown southward and southwestward toward the airport.
Tuesday's closing affected more than 440 flights carrying more than 59,500 passengers.
Bali's international airport is expected to reopen, although Moung Agung is still erupting.
Airport spokesman Arie Ahsannurohim said the volcanic ash has drifted south and southeast, leaving clean space above the airport for planes to land and take off.
The airport was expected to reopen on Wednesday afternoon.
It has been closed since Monday morning, disrupting travel for tens of thousands of people.
Indonesia's president is urging anyone still within the exclusion zone to get out "for the sake of their safety."
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo ordered all concerned ministries and agencies, as well as the military and police, to help the Bali government cope.
On Monday, authorities told 100,000 people to leave an area extending up to 10km (6 miles). However, some have stayed.
Australia's Prime Minister has said he was discussing how to help thousands of Australians stranded on Bali.
Australians account for more than one in four of the international tourists who flock to the Indonesian island.
Malcolm Turnbull urged Australians who cannot leave Bali's airport to contact the local Australian Consulate.
"I'll be talking to the foreign minister [Julie Bishop] about how we can best support Australians who are caught up in Bali right now," Mr Turnbull told reporters.
"We provide extensive support to Australians who are in trouble of one kind or another overseas and they should be in touch with the consulate in Bali."
The first flights have departed from Bali's airport since it was closed on Monday.
Bali's airport has reopened, two days after a volcanic eruption spread ash across the holiday island and forced its airport to close, stranding tourists and spurring evacuation efforts.
"Bali's international airport started operating normally," air traffic control provider AirNav said in a statement, adding that operations resumed at 2:28ppm (0628 GMT).
The reopening followed a downgrade in the authorities' aviation warning to "orange", one level below the most serious.
The decision to resume operations followed an emergency meeting at the airport, weighed up weather conditions, tests and data from AirNav and other groups, AirNav added.
Singapore Airlines Ltd said it would resume flights between Singapore and Bali.
Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd said it and budget arm Jetstar would run 16 flights to Australia tomorrow to ferry home 3,800 stranded customers.
Some stranded tourists managed to get off the island before the airport reopened, but they faced an arduous journey involving crowded roads, buses, ferries and sometimes overnight waits in yet another airport in Surabaya on the island of Java.
"This is a very unforgettable experience for us. So much hassle and definitely one for the books," Sheryl David, a tourist from Manila, Philippines, who arrived Saturday in Bali with three friends and was supposed to leave Tuesday, told Reuters.
She remained stuck in a third airport on Wednesday in the capital, Jakarta, waiting for a flight home that required buying a new ticket, but said the experience didn't dampen her feelings about the island.
"Yes, still a paradise," she texted.
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