Volcanic ash forces Bali airport to shut down again
Indonesia closes the Ngurah Rai International Airport on the resort island of Bali for a third time this month after ash started spewing from Mount Raung on nearby Java Island.
Mount Raung, which has been rumbling for weeks, shot ash about 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) into the air on Wednesday with wind blowing the ash southeast sending ash clouds over Bali.
The ash also forced two small airports on Java to shut down on Wednesday afternoon
The brief shutdown in Bali on Wednesday led to the cancellation of flights stranding tourists during peak holiday season.
However, it was not immediately clear how many flights had been cancelled by the new airport closure.
Australian airlines Virgin Australia and Jetstar said they were cancelling flights on Wednesday to and from Bali.
Volcanic ash from Mount Raung previously closed Bali airport twice this month, between July 9 and 12.
The earlier shutdowns forced almost 900 flights to be cancelled or delayed, causing a chaotic situation that took days to clear.
Bali attracts millions of tourists, including many Australians, each year, and the airport closures have struck the tourist industry at the peak season of the year.
The latest shutdown has also caused problems for domestic tourists who were on their way back home after last week's Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.
Indonesia's air traffic is regularly disrupted by seismic activity on around 130 active volcanoes in the country, the highest number in the world.
Volcanic ash clouds not only affect pilots' visibility during flight, but also inflict serious damage on aircraft engines.
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