Flights To and From Bali Cancelled After Volcanic Eruption Creates Thick Ash Cloud
Three Australian airlines have cancelled flights to and from Bali after a volcanic eruption near the Indonesian holiday spot has created a dangerous ash cloud.
The groundings affected Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia flights on Tuesday, leaving passengers stranded.
The emergency began on Sunday when Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki volcano erupted, spewing an ash column 9 kilometres high into the air.
The event in East Nusa Tenggara province, which is about 500km from Bali, killed nine people and prompted the evacuation of more than 15,000 people close to the crater.
“Due to volcanic ash caused by Mount Lewotobi in Indonesia, it is currently not safe to operate to and from Bali,” Jetstar said on Wednesday.
All of its flights to and from Denpasar Airport have been cancelled until 2pm AEDT.
“We continue to monitor the situation closely and will provide an update on flights scheduled to operate after 1400 AEDT as soon as possible,” Jetstar said in a statement.
If the situation improves, Jetstar plans to put on two flights between Australia and Bali.
Lucy Schapel and her partner said they were “disappointed” when their flights to the holiday destination were cancelled after they arrived at Adelaide Airport on Tuesday night.
“It was basically time to board, it was announced here over the PA that it was unsafe to fly due to volcanic activity,” she said.
“Disappointed obviously but we are also understanding that safety should be prioritised.”
The 26-year-old has had her flights rescheduled to Saturday and the Adelaide couple remain hopeful it will go ahead.
“You get your hopes up and get excited to go on holidays and then you have to go back into the office — how tragic,” she said.
A Qantas flight is due to depart Sydney International Airport about 4:30pm while Virgin still plans to operate a flight out of Sydney at 5:45pm.
On Tuesday, Qantas and Virgin Airlines cancelled up to 10 journeys in total, according to their websites.
Source: ABC News
