More than 30 flights to and connecting Bali to Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, India and China were cancelled or delayed due to a volcano eruption, affecting more than 14,000 passengers. Three airports in East Nusa Tenggara province are closed from Wednesday until Thursday, as they prioritised the safety of the passengers, said the transportation ministry.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki, which is on the island of Flores, east of Bali, erupted on Tuesday, spewing ash 11km high, forcing the country’s volcanology agency to raise the alert level to the highest. It erupted again on Wednesday morning, belching a 1km high ash cloud.
While the eruption is not in Bali itself, its airspace has been affected due to ash clouds.
Laki-Laki, which means “man” in Indonesian, is twinned with a calmer volcano named after the Indonesian word for “woman”. Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”.
Affected flights
Bali’s Ngurah Rai airport said 32 flights in and out of the island had been cancelled on domestic and international routes on Wednesday, 18 June.
Virgin Australia confirmed some flights between Brisbane and Melbourne and Bali were cancelled on Wednesday due to the eruption.
Jetstar also cancelled four flights from Australia into Bali on Wednesday, while Qantas said it was keeping a “close eye” on the situation.
Air New Zealand cancelled two flights between Bali and Aukland on Wednesday, saying it would “continue to closely monitor” the volcanic ash cloud.
Scoot said that it has cancelled five flights to and from Bali and Lombok on Wednesday due to volcanic ash activity.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) has also cancelled flights to and from Bali on Wednesday. The airline said that other SIA flights between Singapore and Indonesia may be affected as the situation remains fluid.
Qantas’ low-cost carrier JetStar cancelled several morning flights to Bali from Australia and expects afternoon flights to be delayed.
A number of flights operated by AirAsia Malaysia and AirAsia Indonesia to and from Bali, Lombok and Labuan Bajo were also cancelled or rescheduled.
China’s Juneyao Airlines also cancelled its flight to Shanghai. Air India’s plane was asked to turn back after taking off from New Delhi and it landed in Varanasi instead.
Airlines said they are working with affected customers to find alternative options and are advising passengers travelling to the region to monitor their flights for updates.
Flights to Jakarta not affected
“The Ngurah Rai International Airport is still operating normally but it depends on the flight schedule, but some of the flights are cancelled due to a volcano. It depends on the route and also the airline,” a Bali airport customer service agent said here.
Garuda, AirAsia Indonesia, BatikAir and Citilink airlines seem to have been unaffected and are scheduled to depart for Jakarta, while low-cost carrier Transnusa pushed back its flight to Jakarta by two hours.
The geology agency said residents and tourists should avoid carrying out any activities within at least 7km of the volcano’s crater and a mushroom-shaped ash cloud was visible as much as 150 kilometres away.
It warned of the possibility of hazardous lahar floods – a type of mud or debris flow of volcanic materials – if heavy rain occurs, particularly for communities near rivers. There were no immediate reports of damages or casualties.
Last eruption in November
In November last year, the volcano also erupted multiple times, killing nine people and forcing thousands to evacuate. The eruption also resulted in the cancelling of many international flights to and from Bali.
If you’re flying to Bali, Flores, or Lombok over the next few days, check you’re the status of your flight status and allow time for possible delays or rescheduling.
