Indonesia's Transport Ministry on Friday extended period of airport closure and issued warnings to planes to avoid route near erupting volcano in eastern part of the country, official said.

The extension is effective from 12:00 a.m. local time on Friday to 07:00 a.m. on Saturday, said J.A. Barata, spokesman of the ministry.

The policies would be reviewed before its implementation, he told Xinhua by phone.

The ash from Gamalama volcano's eruption on Thursday night in Ternate city of North Maluku province has enveloped the Sultan Babullah airport and could disturb aviation, Barata said.

The previous period of the airport closure was effective from 09:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. local time on Friday, he added.

Last year, another volcano of Mount Lokon in North Sulawesi in eastern Indonesia erupted, spewing a column of ash that disturbed flight from and to Australia.

Reports said that thousands of maskers have been distributed and hundreds of passengers in the airport have been forced to delay their journeys.

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