Thousands of tourists are stuck on the Indonesian island of Bali, after a volcano eruption forced its airport to shut and nearly 700 flights to be cancelled.
Mount Rinjani, on the nearby island of Lombok, erupted Sunday morning, and has been spewing ash into the air for the past four days.
The ash has blown westward in the direction of Bali, forcing authorities to close the Denpasar international airport.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesperson for Indonesia's national disaster mitigation agency, said Rinjani has thrown ash and debris 11,000 feet (3.4 km) into the air. He posted a graphic of the ash moving in the direction of Bali:
Gunung Kerinci terus keluarkan asap dan abu vulkanik ke arah barat. Beberapa bandara mengalami gangguan 3-11-2015. pic.twitter.com/ETZDYQzS6V— Sutopo Purwo Nugroho (@Sutopo_BNPB) November 3, 2015
On Wednesday, airlines said travellers would have to wait till Thursday afternoon local time to leave the island.
Singapore Airlines is offering refunds for cancelled tickets, and Jetstar says travellers can either rebook their tickets for free or get a voucher for the credit.
Due to volcanic activity at Mt Rinjani, flights to/from Denpasar (Bali) have been rescheduled. More info: https://t.co/U4QgjY04ky— Singapore Airlines (@SingaporeAir) November 4, 2015
[Travel update] Thursday morning and afternoon flights cancelled #ashcloud #volcano #rinjani #lombok #indonesia https://t.co/mvKeE56JMM— Jetstar Airways (@JetstarAirways) November 4, 2015
Breaking News: Ngurah Rai Airport Bali is closed on 3 Nov 2015 from 19.30 until 23.30 (local time) due to Rinjani Volcano Activity.— Garuda Indonesia (@IndonesiaGaruda) Nov 03 2015
Lombok island's Selaparang airport and Blimbingsari airport on the Java island were also affected by the eruption, said reports quoting the Ministry of Transportation.
Rinjani is one of over 100 active volcanoes in Indonesia. During July's peak holiday season, another of its volcanoes, Mount Raung, erupted and four airports -- including Bali's -- were shut, affecting tens of thousands of travellers.
In 2010, Mount Sinabung awoke after nearly four centuries of lying dormant. Its eruptions in the past five years have already pushed 10,000 villagers to evacuate its vicinity.