Bali airport closed after volcanic eruption; some 600 Dutch among stranded travelers

The Indonesian authorities closed the international airport on Bali due to an eruption of volcano Agung spewing large amounts of ash on the island. A total of 445 flights were canceled, resulting in 59 thousand travelers stranded on the island, NOS reports.

Among the stranded travelers are a few hundred Dutch. Around 330 Dutch people traveled to the island through tour operator TUI, another 250 are on the island through Corendon, RTL Nieuws reports. There are also a number of smaller travel agencies active in Bali, and many people traveled there on their own, without booking through a travel agency.

The Indonesian authorities also increased the threat level on Bali and are evacuating residents living in a radius of 10 kilometers around the volcano. This involves around 90 thousand people.

So far the holidaymakers haven't been affected much by the volcanic eruption, a spokesperson for TUI said to RTL. "The hotel zones are located 70 kilometers from the volcano, and there is no one in the direct circle by far."