International flights were cancelled including Jetstar and Virgin Australia flights to cities across Australia, and flights of Air India, Air New Zealand, Singapore's TigerAir and China's Juneyao Airlines.
Aircraft are prohibited from flying below 6,000 metres in the vicinity of the volcano, and should also remain alert to the presence of volcanic ash, which can disrupt flights.
Shahab noted that the volcanic eruption had begun affecting airport operations since March 21 morning from 8:45am, although the airport's airspace in South Bali remained safe.
The long eruption on late March 20 prompted the country's geological agency to raise Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki's alert level to the highest of the four-tiered system.
The closure was also prompted by a report from a pilot flying from the town of Maumere to Kupang, the provincial capital. The pilot detected the smell of sulfur at an altitude between 1,500 – 3,300 metres.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, which stands 1,703 meters tall, has erupted multiple times in recent months. In November, a series of eruptions killed nine people, forced thousands to flee, and disrupted international flights to Bali.
Several international airlines have cancelled flights to and from Indonesia's resort island of Bali, following Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki’s further eruptions spewing ash clouds as high as 10 km and forcing thousands to evacuate.
Multiple airports in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, have temporarily shut down, with dozens of flights canceled following eruptions from Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in East Flores.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in eastern Indonesia on November 8 continued to spewing a 8,000-m high column of hot ash in an eruption that has lasted nearly a week.
Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki erupted again on November 7, spewing a 2,500 metre high column of hot ash, just three days after a midnight eruption killed nine people and injured 64 others.
