Jakarta (Antara) - Flag carrier Garuda Indonesia airlines has reopened flights since Saturday to/from Denpasar, Bali, following the return to operations of Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport after being closed due to Mount Raung's eruption.
"With the reopening of the airport since Saturday beginning at 9.57 a.m local time, Garuda also resumes its flights to Bali," M Ikhsan Rosan, vice president corporate communications of Garuda Indonesia, said in a press release on Saturday.
Garuda will operate 34 flights beginning Saturday (July 11) from Bali to various domestic and international destinations.
Bali's Ngurah Rai airport was reopened after it was closed for more than 24 hours due to volcanic ash spewed by Mount Raung that recently erupted in East Java.
"Ngurah Rai international airport was reopened today at 10 A.M. local time," the airport's head of public communication, Andravida Barata, said in a text message on Saturday morning.
He added that the airport was reopened following a note issued to airmen, Notam number A1420/15, after the volcanic ash had reduced considerably.
"The volcanic ash has started moving away, but we will continue to follow its updates," he noted.
Based on Notam Number A1419/15, Ngurah Rai airport remained closed until 1200 hours on Saturday.
Following the airport closure, Garuda Indonesia canceled 31 flights to and from Denpasar (Bali) and Lombok.
Garuda's Vice Corporate Communications Executive Ikhsan Rosan remarked that based on Notam Number B1874/15 issued by the Briefing Office of the Ministry of Transportation on the reopening of the operations of Lombok's international airport, all Garuda flights from and to Lombok that were scheduled for Saturday would continue.
Garuda canceled 109 flights since the closure of Ngurah Rai and other airports on Friday. Other airlines such as AirAsia Indonesia canceled eight international and five domestic flights, while Citiling suspended 27 flights and Lion Air canceled 12 flights.
Wings Air's Labuan Bajo-Ende-Kupang flight was the first plane to depart from Ngurah Rai after it reopened, followed by Lion Air's flight to Surabaya and Ujungpandang.
The first Garuda plane to depart from the airport was GA-718D for Australia, followed by AirAsia QZ-544.(*)
