Indonesia’s government says the alert status for Mount Agung remains at a high level, but only for an 8-10km radius from the summit. Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan said: “The rest of Bali is still normal.”
Authorities hope that any eruption will blow towards the east of Bali due to the prevailing wind direction, which means the airport will be unaffected by the ash cloud produced. An exclusion zone around the mountain remains in place and residents have been moved out of danger.
“Based on the advice from the Agency for Meteorology Climatology and Geophysics, the winds will blow towards the East of Bali. Thus, should an eruption occurs, the ash will not disrupt aviation activities in Bali Airport,” Pandjaitan said.
He added: “As long as travellers visit tourism attractions outside the 10km exclusion zone, their trips are safe. Please inform everyone to still go on vacation to Bali, it’s not necessary to postpone or cancel.”
Tourism minister Arief Yahya urged hotels and ground handlers to provide incentives for visitors. “Do not be afraid to give discounts, it is better to have less profit than more losses from having not enough revenue,” he said.
