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Five Indonesian airports closed due to volcanic eruption

Five Indonesian airports closed due to volcanic eruption

By REUTERS

A company logo of Garuda Indonesia airline is displayed during a news conference in Hong Kong September 16, 2011. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/Files

JAKARTA: Indonesian authorities shut five airports on Friday, including on the popular holiday islands of Bali and Lombok, because of a volcanic eruption, a spokesman for the airport operator said. 'I can't say at this time how many passengers have been affected,' said Farid Indra Nugraha, a spokesman for airport operator Angkasa Pura 1. National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia cancelled all its flights to and from the four airports, it said on its official Twitter account. 'Bali is our second largest hub and this will also affect our international connecting flights,' said Ikhsan Rosan, a spokesman for the airline. Mount Raung in East Java has been erupting for nearly a week, forcing the cancellation of a number of flights to and from Australia.