Indonesian volcano eruption delays Vice President Ansari's trip to Brunei

Bali (Indonesia), Nov.4 (ANI): Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari's day-long visit to Brunei has been delayed by a day in the wake of airport authorities in Bali cancelling all flights into and out of the province because of a volcanic eruption.

He was to land in Brunei this afternoon, but Balinese authorities have issued an advisory to delay his departure till Thursday morning.

Officials of the Vice President's Secretariat informed the media this afternoon that while the visit of the Vice President to Brunei stands as of now, the taking off of his special flight has been delayed because of the eruption of Mount Rinjani.

"The Vice President's flight to Brunei has been delayed. The airport authorities in Bali, officials of the weather department and other key departments of the provincial administration have taken a decision not to allow any flights in or out of Bali till after 8.45 a.m. tomorrow (Thursday-November 5)," the officials said.

"The concerned authorities in Bali will have a review meeting at 7 p.m. and it is at that point of time we will know when the Vice President shall fly out. As of now, the visit to Brunei stands," the officials added.

The official entourage accompanying Vice President Ansari has been asked to remain on stand-by for a possible early departure.

Flights to and from Bali were cancelled on Tuesday following the eruption of Mount Rinjani on the nearby island of Lombok, East Nusa Tenggara.

Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport is closed as of now for all incoming and outgoing flights.

On Tuesday, 11 international and 14 domestic flights were affected by the closer of the airport.

Airport's operations manager Ngurah Ardita was quoted by the Jakarta Post newspaper as saying that "We will reevaluate the situation tonight."

The Jakarta Post has reported that at least seven villages in North Lombok are covered with ash and that the West Nusa Tenggara Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) has prepared some 4,000 masks for affected villagers.

The volcano had been on alert status since erupting last week and evacuation scenarios for the affected areas have reportedly been prepared.

The latest disruption comes three months after a major eruption at Mount Raung on Java led to widespread travel chaos at Bali's airport, leaving passengers stranded for days.