Garuda flights continue

Garuda flights continue

SYDNEY (Dow Jones): Garuda Indonesia, the national carrier of Indonesia, said Thursday its 30 weekly flights from Australia to Bali, a popular tourist destination, have been unaffected by violence in the neighboring island of Lombok.

"As Bali is unaffected by the current unrest in Lombok, our flights continue as scheduled. There are no signs of cancellations of bookings," said Agus Priyanto, Garuda's general manager in New South Wales state.

The airline doesn't fly directly to Lombok, but many tourists travel to Lombok by ferry from Bali.

Garuda said it has been receiving telephone calls from people concerned about the safety of relatives currently visiting Bali.

Earlier this week, Muslim rioters on Lombok ransacked churches, houses and businesses abandoned by Christian owners, many of them members of Indonesia's Chinese minority.