JAKARTA: Indonesia's Mount Raung volcano, which has been throwing up ash leading to closure of several airports in Indonesia early this month, has now blown up, as also Gamalama mountain volcano in eastern Indonesia which has been lying dormant for quite some time.
Three Indonesian airports remained closed since Thursday as the ash from the erupting volcanoes, rising up to 5000 feet in the air and spreading, can interfere with aviation security by damaging engines.
These are the airports serving Surabaya and Malang in East Java near Raung and Ternate in North Maluku, near Gamalama.
The ash thrown up from Raung were blocking the cities of Surabaya, the second largest in Indonesia and provincial capital of East Java, and Malang,
leading to closure of Juanda and Abdurrahman Saleh airports. Likewise, the debris from Gamalama has closed the Sultan Babullah airport in Ternate, capital of North Maluku.
The air traffic shutdown has come at a rush period of Eid, especially as
Indonesia is the most populous Muslim-majority country where large numbers of people travel to join their families. The closure has also hit tourist
movements. Eid celebration marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan for the Muslims the world over.
Last week's eruption at Raung had led to closure of five airports creating traffic chaos especially at the tourist-heavy Bali. Thousands were stranded.
Two domestic airports in East Java - Banyuwangi and Jember - have been closed since then.
A total of five airports remain closed as of Friday. However, Bali international airport is open now.
