Several airlines resumed flights to Bali on Thursday, after cancelling trips to and from the Indonesian resort island due to huge eruptions at a nearby volcano. Eighty-three international routes were cancelled on Wednesday, the general manager of Bali’s international airport said in a statement, after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki spewed a nine-kilo meter (5.6-mile) tower of ash into the sky. The volcano has erupted more than a dozen times over the last two weeks, killing at least nine people and forcing the evacuation of thousands.
Qantas and Jet star were resuming their services to Bali, Australia’s Qantas Group said in a statement Thursday, noting “improved” conditions. Two delayed Qantas flights from yesterday were among those set to take off, Qantas said. “We will continue to monitor the changing conditions and volcanic activity,” it said in the statement. AirAsia planned to resume some flights to and from Bali later today, the company said in a statement to AFP, while Virgin Australia said on its website it would resume flights to and from Denpasar starting today.
Singapore’s Scoot airline, meanwhile, said it had rescheduled flights from Singapore to Bali and Surabaya as well as their return flights due to Lewotobi Laki-Laki’s volcanic activity. As of 3 am Thursday, Bali’s airport had recorded another 32 international flight cancellations, general manager Ahmad Syaugi Shahab said.
He added that volcanic ash from Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki had been heading away from the airport since Wednesday evening. “We hope affected airline passengers can resume their travel on Thursday,” Ahmad said. Lewotobi erupted again overnight into Thursday morning, and a thick ash column and lava flows could be seen pouring from its crater, according to the volcanology agency.
The airport in the tourist hotspot of Labuan Bajo near the volcano reopened on Thursday, according to the airport’s Instagram account. Laki-Laki, which means “man” in Indonesian, is twinned with a calmer volcano named after the Indonesian word for “woman”. Bali’s economy is heavily reliant on tourism but Indonesia is one of the most disaster-prone nations on Earth, straddling the Pacific Ring of Fire where tectonic plates collide.
Mount Lewotobi, located on Flores Island in Indonesia, actually consists of two adjacent volcanoes: Lewotobi Laki-Laki (“Male Lewotobi”) and Lewotobi Perempuan (“Female Lewotobi”). Both have a history of volcanic activity, but Lewotobi Laki-Laki is generally more active.
Here’s a quick look at Lewotobi Laki-Laki’s recent eruptions:
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Historical Eruptions:
- Lewotobi Laki-Laki has been erupting intermittently for centuries, with documented eruptions dating back to the 17th century.
- Significant eruptions were recorded in 1660, 1704, 1862, and 1921.
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Recent Activity:
- The most recent eruptions from Lewotobi Laki-Laki occurred in 2003, 2011, and 2020, with each eruption being relatively mild, mainly producing ash and small explosions.
- The 2020 eruption was minor and led to some ash emissions but no major damage.
The volcanic activity at Lewotobi Laki-Laki remains moderate, with ongoing fumarolic (steam) activity, indicating that the volcano is still active and could erupt again in the future.
