Bali airport reopens after volcanic ash

Bali's international airport has reopened after being closed due a volcanic eruption at Mount Agung.

Bali's international airport are has been closed for 16 hours as Mount Agung erupts.

Bali's international airport are has been closed for 16 hours as Mount Agung erupts. Source: AAP

Bali's international airport has reopened after it closed following a volcanic eruption at Mount Agung.

Ngurah Rai airport on Bali reopened 2.30pm local time (1630 AEST) after a 12-hour closure, National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a statement.

Two other nearby airports in East Java will remain closed until 5pm (1900 AEST) local time.

Bali's government provided free-of-charge bus services for passengers travelling to Surabaya, Jakarta or Padangbai port in East Bali. There are 446 scheduled flights arriving and departing from the airport on Friday.

"Bali dan Badung regency have prepared emergency funds ... after learning from last year's experience," Bali governor Made Mangku Pastika told the Antara news agency during his visit to the airport.

Airlines cancelled mostly international flights after the closure on Thursday, affecting more than 8000 passengers affected.

The National Disaster Management Agency said Mount Agung has been spewing clouds of ash up to 2500 metres since Wednesday.

Authorities raised the warning alert to the highest level on November 22 and ordered the evacuation of people living nearby after two days of eruptions. The alert level was lowered on February 10 after a decrease in activity.

A danger zone has been erected within a 4km radius of the volcano's crater, and some 300 residents from the area around the mountain were evacuated.

The 3031-metre high volcano's last deadly eruptions occurred in 1963 and 1964, during which about 1200 people were killed.

Indonesia sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an area known for seismic upheavals and volcanic eruptions.


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