JAKARTA, June 29 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian authorities on Friday closed the airport in the country's Bali resort island amid volcanic ash spewed from Mount Agung, affecting more than 74,000 visitors.
The airport is closed from 02:00 a.m. to 18:00 p.m. Jakarta time on Friday and an assessment of the situation will be made at 11:00 a.m. Jakarta time, a government official said.
The decision is particularly made regarding the safety of flights and some flight operators have applied cancellation since Thursday for safety reason, spokesman for the nation disaster management agency Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.
A total of 239 domestic flights and 207 international flights have been affected due to the shutdown of the airport, he said.
Mount Agung erupted on Thursday.