A British woman was handed a six-month jail term Wednesday for slapping an immigration officer in Bali after she missed her flight because of an expired tourist visa.

A court on the Indonesian holiday island found Auj-e Taqaddas, 43, guilty of assaulting the officer at Ngurah Rai international airport in July last year.

A viral video of the episode showed the woman launch into an expletive-laden rant when she was told she would have to pay a $4,000 fine for overstaying her visa by several months.&nbsp;

She then hit an officer, accusing him of making her miss a flight.

Taqaddas, who vowed to appeal the verdict, was physically taken to the courthouse on Wednesday after missing several earlier court dates, authorities said.&nbsp;

She was not detained before the sentencing.

"We have been monitoring her movements in the past week and this afternoon we forcibly took her to the court," said prosecutor Waher Tulus Jaya Tarihoran.

"She fought back, hitting and kicking our prosecutors."

A British woman was handed a six-month jail term Wednesday for slapping an immigration officer in Bali after she missed her flight because of an expired tourist visa.

A British woman was handed a six-month jail term Wednesday for slapping an immigration officer in Bali after she missed her flight because of an expired tourist visa. A court on the Indonesian holiday island found Auj-e Taqaddas, 43, guilty of assaulting the officer at Ngurah Rai international airport in July last year. A viral video of the episode showed the woman launch into an expletive-laden rant when she was told she would have to pay a $4,000 fine for overstaying her visa by several months. She then hit an officer, accusing him of making her miss a flight. Taqaddas, who vowed to appeal the verdict, was physically taken to the courthouse on Wednesday after missing several earlier court dates, authorities said. She was not detained before the sentencing. "We have been monitoring her movements in the past week and this afternoon we forcibly took her to the court," said prosecutor Waher Tulus Jaya Tarihoran. "She fought back, hitting and kicking our prosecutors."

British woman jailed for slapping Bali immigration officer

Thousands of foreign tourists were expected to leave Bali by plane Thursday following a nearly three-day airport shutdown sparked by a rumbling volcano on the Indonesian holiday island.

The alert level on Mount Agung remains at the maximum, but a change in wind direction blew towering columns of ash and smoke away from the airport, prompting authorities to re-open the island&#39;s main international gateway on Wednesday afternoon.

The move raised hopes for some of the 120,000 tourists stranded after the surge in volcanic activity grounded hundreds of flights since Monday, sparking travel chaos and forcing the evacuation of villagers living in its shadow.

Ash is dangerous for planes as it makes runways slippery and can be sucked into their engines.

&quot;Since the airport reopened yesterday, some flights have resumed operation and things are gradually getting back to normal,&quot; said airport spokesman Israwadi, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

More than 4,500 people have now flown out of the airport, authorities said.

On Wednesday evening, domestic carrier Garuda said it would start flights to several cities across the vast archipelago nation, while AirAsia flew to the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.

However, the airport on nearby Lombok island -- also a popular tourist destination -- closed again Thursday after ash and smoke drifted in its direction.

Millions of tourists visit the palm-fringed island hotspot annually. The majority are Chinese, followed by Australians, Indians, Britons and Japanese, according to the immigration office, which added that nearly 25,000 foreigners live on the small Hindu-dominated island.

Tens of thousands of Balinese have already fled their homes around the volcano -- which last erupted in 1963, killing around 1,600 people -- but as many as 100,000 will likely be forced to leave in case of a full eruption, disaster agency officials have said.

High alert 
Experts said Agung&#39;s recent activity matches the build-up to the earlier disaster, which ejected enough debris -- about a billion tonnes -- to lower global average temperatures by around 0.3 degrees Celsius for roughly a year.

While the volcano appeared to be belching less ash and smoke on Thursday, experts urged caution and have warned a major eruption could happen at any moment. It has already experienced a series of mini eruptions.

&quot;The potential for an eruption is still there, but we cannot predict how big the eruption is going to be,&quot; said Devy Kamil, a senior volcanologist from the Indonesian volcanology agency.

&quot;The volcano is still on the highest alert level.&quot;

Agung rumbled back to life in September, forcing the evacuation of 140,000 people living nearby. Its activity decreased in late October and many returned to their homes.&nbsp;

However, on Saturday the mountain sent smoke into the air for the second time in a week in what volcanologists call a phreatic eruption -- caused by the heating and expansion of groundwater.&nbsp;

So-called cold lava flows have also appeared -- similar to mud flows and often a prelude to the blazing orange lava of popular imagination.&nbsp;

Indonesia, the world&#39;s most active volcanic region, lies on the Pacific &quot;Ring of Fire&quot; where tectonic plates collide, causing frequent volcanic and seismic activities.&nbsp;

Last year seven people were killed after Mount Sinabung on the western island of Sumatra erupted. A 2014 eruption at Sinabung killed 16.

Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport was shut for three days

Thousands of foreign tourists were expected to leave Bali by plane Thursday following a nearly three-day airport shutdown sparked by a rumbling volcano on the Indonesian holiday island. The alert level on Mount Agung remains at the maximum, but a change in wind direction blew towering columns of ash and smoke away from the airport, prompting authorities to re-open the island's main international gateway on Wednesday afternoon. The move raised hopes for some of the 120,000 tourists stranded after the surge in volcanic activity grounded hundreds of flights since Monday, sparking travel chaos and forcing the evacuation of villagers living in its shadow. Ash is dangerous for planes as it makes runways slippery and can be sucked into their engines. "Since the airport reopened yesterday, some flights have resumed operation and things are gradually getting back to normal," said airport spokesman Israwadi, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. More than 4,500 people have now flown out of the airport, authorities said. On Wednesday evening, domestic carrier Garuda said it would start flights to several cities across the vast archipelago nation, while AirAsia flew to the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. However, the airport on nearby Lombok island -- also a popular tourist destination -- closed again Thursday after ash and smoke drifted in its direction. Millions of tourists visit the palm-fringed island hotspot annually. The majority are Chinese, followed by Australians, Indians, Britons and Japanese, according to the immigration office, which added that nearly 25,000 foreigners live on the small Hindu-dominated island. Tens of thousands of Balinese have already fled their homes around the volcano -- which last erupted in 1963, killing around 1,600 people -- but as many as 100,000 will likely be forced to leave in case of a full eruption, disaster agency officials have said. High alert Experts said Agung's recent activity matches the build-up to the earlier disaster, which ejected enough debris -- about a billion tonnes -- to lower global average temperatures by around 0.3 degrees Celsius for roughly a year. While the volcano appeared to be belching less ash and smoke on Thursday, experts urged caution and have warned a major eruption could happen at any moment. It has already experienced a series of mini eruptions. "The potential for an eruption is still there, but we cannot predict how big the eruption is going to be," said Devy Kamil, a senior volcanologist from the Indonesian volcanology agency. "The volcano is still on the highest alert level." Agung rumbled back to life in September, forcing the evacuation of 140,000 people living nearby. Its activity decreased in late October and many returned to their homes. However, on Saturday the mountain sent smoke into the air for the second time in a week in what volcanologists call a phreatic eruption -- caused by the heating and expansion of groundwater. So-called cold lava flows have also appeared -- similar to mud flows and often a prelude to the blazing orange lava of popular imagination. Indonesia, the world's most active volcanic region, lies on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where tectonic plates collide, causing frequent volcanic and seismic activities. Last year seven people were killed after Mount Sinabung on the western island of Sumatra erupted. A 2014 eruption at Sinabung killed 16.

Flights resume as Bali's volcano-hit airport reopens

Indonesian authorities on Tuesday extended the closure of the international airport on the resort island of Bali for a second day over fears of a volcanic eruption.

Bali&#39;s Ngurah Rai airport will remain closed until at least Wednesday morning local time.&nbsp;

&quot;The Volcanic Ash Advisory shows that the plane routes have been covered by volcanic ash, this is dangerous for the flights,&quot; Indonesian AirNav official Wisnu Darjono said.

Massive columns of thick grey smoke that have been belching from Mount Agung since last week have now begun shooting more than three kilometers&nbsp;into the sky, forcing hundreds of flights to be grounded.

Authorities on Monday warned that the rumbling volcano could erupt at any moment, as they raised alert levels to maximum and accelerated a mass evacuation. The international airport closure left thousands of tourists stranded on the Indonesian holiday island.

Some 40,000 frightened people have fled their homes around the volcano but as many as 100,000 will likely be forced to leave, disaster agency officials have said.

The exclusion zone around Agung, which is 75 kilometers away from the beachside tourist hub of Kuta, has also been widened to 10 kilometers.

Bali's Ngurah Rai airport will remain closed until at least Wednesday morning local time

Indonesian authorities on Tuesday extended the closure of the international airport on the resort island of Bali for a second day over fears of a volcanic eruption. Bali's Ngurah Rai airport will remain closed until at least Wednesday morning local time. "The Volcanic Ash Advisory shows that the plane routes have been covered by volcanic ash, this is dangerous for the flights," Indonesian AirNav official Wisnu Darjono said. Massive columns of thick grey smoke that have been belching from Mount Agung since last week have now begun shooting more than three kilometers into the sky, forcing hundreds of flights to be grounded. Authorities on Monday warned that the rumbling volcano could erupt at any moment, as they raised alert levels to maximum and accelerated a mass evacuation. The international airport closure left thousands of tourists stranded on the Indonesian holiday island. Some 40,000 frightened people have fled their homes around the volcano but as many as 100,000 will likely be forced to leave, disaster agency officials have said. The exclusion zone around Agung, which is 75 kilometers away from the beachside tourist hub of Kuta, has also been widened to 10 kilometers.

Bali airport closed for second day over fears of volcano eruption