Lombok International Airport reopens, set to serve 104 flights

Lombok International Airport general manager I Gusti Ngurah Ardita (JP/Panca Nugraha)

Lombok International Airport (LIA) in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, reopened at 6 a.m. on Monday after halting operations at 5:55 p.m. on Sunday because of the spread of volcanic ash from Mount Agung in Bali.
“Apart from referring to a NOTAM (notice to airmen), we also carried out monitoring. The conditions were conducive to a reopening,” said LIA general manager I Gusti Ngurah Ardita said in Mataram on Monday.
Ardita said the airport was expected to serve 104 flights on Monday, including 27 flights that were delayed since Sunday evening.
Meanwhile, the operational director of state-run air navigation company Airnav Indonesia, Wisnu Darjono, said that with the reopening of the airport, it would immediately serve the airport users that had crowded the airport since the closure.
He also said that his company closely monitored the volcano to ensure the safety of the airport users.
Ardita explained that the NOTAM was issued on Sunday because the volcanic ash of Mount Agung had spread to the neighboring province, covering the air surrounding the airport.
Twenty-three flights from 10 airlines from Lombok were affected as a result of the closure. (JakartaGlobe)