Indonesia reopens Bali airport amid volcanic eruption

Bali airport reopened on Wednesday, Indonesian authorities said, two days after a volcanic eruption spread ash across the holiday island and forced its airport to close, stranding tourists and spurring evacuation efforts.

According to Press TV, Air Taffic Control Provider AirNav said in a statement "Bali's international airport started operating normally," adding that operations resumed at 2:28 p.m. local time (06:28 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.

The move raised hope for some of the more than 120,000 tourists stranded after a surge in activity at Mount Agung had grounded hundreds of flights since Monday, sparking travel chaos.

But airport officials cautioned that the only direct international gateway to the tropical island could be shuttered again if winds change direction and towering columns of smoke and ash pose a risk to flights.

"The airspace will be re-opened" at 3:00 pm local time (0700 GMT), Bali Ngurah Rai Airport Spokesman Arie Ahsanurrohim told AFP.

But "we are going to constantly monitor the situation on the ground," he added.

Singapore Airlines Ltd said it would resume flights between Singapore and Bali on Wednesday. Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd said it and budget arm Jetstar would run 16 flights to Australia on Thursday to ferry home 3,800 stranded customers.

A large plume of white and grey ash and smoke hovered above Agung on Wednesday, after night-time rain partially obscured a fiery glow at its peak over the last few days.

President Joko Widodo implored residents living in a zone around Agung deemed at risk to seek refuge in emergency centers, as winds sending an ash cloud southwest across the island once again halted flights.

Earlier, the transport ministry had said Bali's airport, the country's second biggest, would stay shut until at least 7 a.m. local time on Thursday (23:00 GMT on Wednesday).

A spokesman for Bali's I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport said as many as 430 domestic and international flights had been disrupted on Wednesday by the closure of the airport, about 60 km (37 miles) away from Mount Agung.

ME