The Indonesian tourist island of Bali closed its international airport on Friday, stranding thousands of travellers, as the Mount Agung volcano gushed an 8,200-feet column of ash and smoke.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency said nearly 450 flights were cancelled, affecting some 75,000 people.

The regional Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in Darwin, Australia, said winds would carry the ash southwest toward Java, Indonesia’s most densely populated island. Volcanic ash is a potentially deadly threat to aircraft that can cause engines to "flame out."

The volcano began belching ash and smoke on Thursday and several airlines cancelled inbound and outbound flights scheduled for the evening.

"We hadn’t a place to stay for the night so we had to find something else, just took a taxi and stayed at a random hostel," said a stranded German backpacker who identified herself as Louisa. "We hoped we could leave this morning, but the airport is closed," she said.