REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The transportation ministry has announced that the Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, Bali Province is being closed until Thursday (Nov 5) at 8:45 a.m. local time due to the eruption of Mount Rinjani located in West Nusa Tenggara.

The authorities have issued a notice to airmen no. A2470/15 regarding the temporary closure, JA Barata, spokesman of the transportation ministry, said here, Wednesday. "The Ngurah Rai airport in Bali and the Selaparang airport (in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara) are being shut down until Thursday morning at 8 a.m. central Indonesian standard time, and it will be evaluated again tomorrow morning," he said.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) reported that Mount Rinjani located in the East, Central and North Lombok districts, erupted again on Tuesday (Nov. 3). The eruption spewed volcanic ash reaching a height of around 3,500 meters dpal or one thousand meters above the crater of Barujari.

The ash has covered the Lombok strait, Bali Island, the Bali strait and Banyuwangi, according to the monitoring of the Terra satellite. Seven villages in North Lombok District are affected by the volcanic ash.

The West Nusa Tenggara authorities have distributed some four thousand face masks to local inhabitants. The airport closure is based on the advice offered by the Darwin-based Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC). The alert status of Mt Rinjani is currently at the level II.

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