Travel Sector May Face Trillions of Rupiah in Losses From Barujari: Asita Chief
Denpasar. The closure of the Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport due to Mount Barujari's volcanic eruption in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, has put a substantial dent into the travel industry's finances, with losses predicted to reach trillions of rupiah, according to a travel association.
Volcanic ash from Barujari reached Bali on Tuesday, forcing four airports to close and cancelling 692 domestic and international flights at Ngurah Rai alone. The Bali airport reopened at 2.30 p.m. local time on Thursday.
Trikora Harjo, the airport’s general manager, warned that flights would not resume immediately, saying the apron and planes needed to be cleaned of the layer of volcanic ash that had settled over the area.
I Ketut Ardana, chairman of the Association of Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies (Asita), has calculated financial losses due to the closure to reach Rp 5.3 trillion ($396 million) "based on the number of cancelled flights, the number of seats on those flights and the average costs tourists pay for their trips to Bali."
Ngurah Rai airport has provided free transportation to some 6,200 stranded travelers to the Ubung bus terminal in Denpasar, where they can then take a bus to Surabaya and continue home from Juanda International Airport.
Despite the availability of an alternative route home, tourists are still demanding their money back.
“I will get back to Jakarta by land now. But I want the refund as well,” said Pipit, a passenger of a cancelled Garuda Indonesia flight.
Neither the airlines nor airports effected by the closure have revealed information on the financial losses Barujari's eruption has incurred.
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