© Aris Yanto
Asken som vulkanen spydede ud over Indonesiens hovedø, Java, skabte panik blandt turister, da lufthavne lukkede og internationale flyselskaber aflyste flyvninger til turist brændpunktet, Bali, ash og førte til at tusinder af turister strandede på øen.
Mount Raung i Østjava provinsen, omkring 150 kilometer fra Balis internationale lufthavn, har rumlet i flere uger. Aktivitetsnieveauet er steget i den sidste uges tid og fredag slyngede den aske og andet 3800 meter op i luften.
En vulkanologist fra regeringen, Gede Suantika sagde at udbruddet tvang myndighederne til at lukke fem lufthavne på grund af faren som den vulkanske aske udgjorde, men to lufthavne på Lombok øen genåbnede dog fredag eftermiddag. Transportministeriet fortalte til flyselskaberne at de skulle undgå ruter tæt ved bjerget. De sagde yderligere at en beslutning om at genåbne andre lufthavne villle blive taget senere på fredagen.
Suantika sagde at lava og aske som faldt fra det 3332-meter høje bjerg på Indonesiens mest tætbefolkede ø også fik regeringen til at tilskynde folk til at forblive væk fra en tre kilometer høj farezone rundt om vulkanen.
Evakuationen af indbyggere fra tæt ved vulkanen er stadigvæk betragtet som ikke værende nødvendigt, men myndighederne tilskynder folk til at bære masker.
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Volcanic eruptions can cause significant and lengthy disruption to travel. A 2010 eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokul volcano produced an ash cloud that caused a week of international aviation chaos, with more than 100,000 flights canceled.
"Ash can clog engines and harm other parts of the aircraft," said Transport Ministry spokesman Julius Adravida Barata.
Airports on the islands of Bali and Lombok as well as airports at Banyuwangi and Jember in East Java were closed late Thursday. Barata said thousands of travelers were stranded.
Flights within Indonesia were already overbooked as tens of millions of the country's Muslims pour out of major cities to return to their villages during an annual mass exodus to celebrate the end of the Islamic holy month.
The volcano has proven particularly problematic for Australians, who flock to Bali during Australia's school holidays.
Dozens of flights between Australia and Bali's Ngurah Rai airport by Australian carriers Jetstar and Virgin Australia have been canceled over the past week, with the airlines citing safety concerns.
Both carriers said they are looking into adding extra flights between Australia and Bali when conditions improve to help clear the backlog.
At Bali's international airport, many travelers arrived not knowing about the eruption and flight cancellations. The airport blocked access to ticket counters, adding to the confusion.
Some tourists slept on benches or stood at flight information boards filled with "postponed" and "delayed" notifications. Others complained of a lack of information about their delayed flights.
"The airline can't tell us if we're going to be here tonight or fly tomorrow or the next day," said Charmaine Scott, an Australian holidaymaker.
"This is really difficult for us. We have to basically find some way to stay."
She said that she and her husband hadn't heard about the eruption and flight cancellations until they arrived at the airport on Friday morning.
Raung is among about 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia. The archipelago is prone to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes because of its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a series of fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia.
Another Indonesian volcano, Mount Sinabung in Sumatra, has been erupting for two months, forcing the evacuation of more than 10,000 people.
Source: The Associated Press
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