Alyce had planned her wedding well in advance. Months in advance, to be precise. She had wanted a wedding in Bali and had planned things in a way that her friends from Australia would be able to join her on her big day. But as luck would have it, the volcano chose the worst time for her to erupt and her friends’ chances of making it to the wedding look bleak.
Alyce, the bride-to-be, expressed her disappointment. She said, “Because of this volcano, a lot of guests are not going to be able to make it to the marriage in Bali tomorrow.”
“My cousin is getting married on Thursday. We are waiting for guests, who are stuck. We planned this event almost a year in advance, and this has caused a lot of inconvenience,” said Desiree from Melbourne, Australia.
They are not alone.
A volcanic eruption and the subsequent volcanic ash clouding the air has forced the Bali airport to be closed until Thursday morning, leaving thousands of tourists stranded at the airport.
Virgin Airlines, AirAsia, Jetstar have cancelled their flights to and from Bali. The airport will be closed till 8:45 am local time on Thursday, after which the conditions would be evaluated for a fresh outlook. The situation has been created by the blowing of ash from the eruption of the Barujari Crater on Mt Rinjani, on the island of Lombok east of Bali.
The volcano has been emitting debris and ash ever since it erupted on October 25. This is the second time in recent months that volcanic eruptions have wreaked havoc with flight schedules, creating hassles for travelers. Australian tourists are the worst hit.
Interestingly, the extradition of Indian fugitive Chota Rajan, who was apprehended last month by Indonesian authorities when he was exiting the Bali airport to take a flight to Australia, has also been put on hold taking a view of the present situation.
Indian vice president Hamid Ansari is also in Bali for a meeting with the Governor and a lecture at the Udayana University, and his next scheduled trip to Brunei looks jeopardised at moment.