Chinese tourists return home after being stranded in Bali

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Chinese tourists stranded in Bali due to a volcano eruption have returned home after Chinese carriers sent flights to evacuate them.

Two China Eastern Airlines planes with passengers evacuated from Bali arrived in Shanghai on Friday morning, with one carrying 267 passengers and another about 290 passengers.

Later, another China Eastern Airlines plane, with 292 passengers on board, arrived in Beijing at 9:42 a.m.

/CCTV Photo

On the same day, two planes from China Southern Airlines carrying over 300 people also arrived in south China’s Guangdong Province.

One of them landed in Shenzhen at 6:10 BJT with 147 passengers on board, while the other landed in Guangzhou at 6:44 BJT, with 159 on board.

Thousands returned

In the past two days, thousands of tourists stranded in Bali have been sent back by three Chinese airlines: China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Xiamen Airlines.

Most of the passengers are Chinese nationals, with a few foreigners.

CGTN Photo

The real challenge for the evacuation was volcanic ash, said a captain of the designated planes from China Southern Airlines.

The captain also said he is not sure if there are more flights scheduled for the evacuation over the weekend, but added he is ready if more responsibilities to evacuate stranded people from the island.

Alert lowered, but threat still looms

Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport was closed on Monday due to the eruption of Mount Agung and only reopened Wednesday afternoon.

Authorities said it will still take some time for the airport to be fully operational, as their main priority is to send home the passengers that have been stranded there for days.

International passengers are seen outside the terminal after the airport on the resort island of Bali reopened following the eruption of Mount Agung at Ngurah Rai International Airport, Kuta, Bali, Indonesia, November 29, 2017. /Reuters Photo

Although the alert has been lowered from red to orange, travelers and residents should remain cautious when it comes to Mount Agung, said the National Disaster Mitigation Agency.

The agency has recorded low-frequency tremors in the past three days, which is causing worry among authorities on the island.

The closure of Bali’s airport has caused millions of US dollars in losses per day. Almost 80 percent of the island’s economy comes from its tourism sector. Mount Agung has been spewing ash and smoke since last week, causing fear that a bigger explosion might happen in the near future.

(CGTN’s He Weiwei and Silkina Ahluwalia also contributed to this story. )

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