At least 59,000 travellers have been left affected and hundreds of flights delayed after a volcanic eruption on the Indonesian island of Bali.

Volcanic ashes from Mount Agung forced Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport to be closed for 24 hours, leading to the disruption of 445 flights.

The airport is closed at least until 7am GMT (+7) on Tuesday, according to National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

Image: AP/REX/Shutterstock

All flights departing and arriving from the airport are cancelled under "further notice."

Airlines avoid flying when volcanic ash is present because it can lead to significant damage in aircraft engines, leading to possible engine failure, clogging fuel and cooling systems, and hampering pilot visibility.

Official statement about I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport is CLOSED due to tje volcanic ashes of Mount Agung. pic.twitter.com/ldGjCunAJd — Sutopo Purwo Nugroho (@Sutopo_BNPB) November 27, 2017

One passenger at Bali airport who was at the airport earlier this morning for a 7am flight with carrier AirAsia, said that it was not until later at 7:30am that passengers were told that the airport was closing until 7am the next day, and that all flights would be cancelled.

Image: AP/REX/Shutterstock

"We waited several hours in a queue for the check-in desk to speak to an AirAsia representative. When I finally spoke to one, he just went on to rebook [me] for the first flight tomorrow at 7:00am," Jakob Aungiers told Mashable.

"I tried to ask about accommodation, or food vouchers, or even water, but they said [they] weren't providing anything other than a flight rebooking...I [later left] at about 2pm."

Chaos at Bali airport as @AirAsia cancelled all flights and now no more info has been given. Check-in counters understaffed and no #AirAsia staff on hand to help out. Passengers confused. @AirAsiaSupport — Jakob Aungiers (@JakobAungiers) November 26, 2017

He said that the atmosphere in the airport was "one of confusion", with a lot of the staff "not knowing what was going on either."

However, he added that despite the recent volcanic eruption, the weather in Bali was "clear."

"I think most people are generally annoyed, especially as outside it's a beautiful clear day with no signs of any ash cloud or volcano," he said.

Mount Agung is some 71km (44 mi) away from Bali's airport Image: google maps/screenshot

"My fingers are crossed my rebooked flight [leaves tomorrow]. Otherwise I'll be stuck spending nights in hotels indefinitely."

Other passengers similarly took to social media to share their experiences.

So the airport is closed and Im stranded in Bali. Meant to be going to Tokyo in a few days #Bali #Denpasar #volcano — Rob Forsyth (@TVCastingbyRob) November 27, 2017

I need help! Stranded in Bali. Anyone know of a way to get from Bali to Tokyo not by plane within 20 hours?... https://t.co/0MgRhBAJZ2 — Derek Du Chesne (@DerekDuChesne) November 27, 2017

Stranded in Bali due to a volcano 🌋 If you think Bali is a good place to be stuck, you are more than likely a scumbag*



*Monkeys are cool though 🐒😎 — Tom Biggs (@tombiggs11) November 27, 2017

Hundreds of passengers are stranded in bali airport, airline companies set up emergency helpdesk pic.twitter.com/ZCa2xcuXdi — Archicco Guilianno (@Archicco) November 27, 2017

However, one passenger who had earlier had his flight cancelled eventually managed to find his way out, by making his way from Bali to Surabaya by boat, some 300km (186 mi) away.

"I took my driver up the west coast to catch a ferry to Java to catch a flight from Surabaya, [then I'll go on to] Jakarta, Taipei and San Francisco. I have a meeting I can't miss," John Dean told Mashable.

Indonesia's transport ministry has also prepared 100 buses as well as ferries to carry stranded passengers to operating airports on Java and Lombok islands, according to a Bloomberg report.

Large scale eruption

Mount Agung first erupted on Saturday, its first major activity since 1963. It has continued spewing ash since, with explosive eruptions and weak blasts that can be heard up to 12km (7 mi) away from the peak.

However, what has got authorities worried is the threat of a large-scale eruption.

Authorities on Monday raised the warning level to the maximum level 4, and the designated exclusion zone has been extended to a 10km (6 mi) radius.

Some 40,000 locals have already been evacuated, but another 60,000 still need to move. A spokesman from Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency (BNPB) said authorities would move them by force if necessary.

Evacuees at an emergency shelter Image: MADE NAGI/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

“Not all residents have evacuated yet. There are those (who haven’t evacuated) because their farm animals haven’t been evacuated yet. There are those who feel they are safe,” Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told news outlet The Guardian.

More than 1,000 people died the last time Mount Agung erupted in 1963.