Several airlines have now cancelled flights between Australia and the Indonesian island of Bali after a nearby volcanic eruption.
The eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki on the island of Flores has thrown volcanic ash to altitudes of around 9 kilometres, or 30,000 feet. The ash cloud becomes a critical concern to commercial jet aircraft transiting the affected region.
Bali Flight Cancellations
The Lewotobi Volcano, which is located approximately 500 km from Bali, has seen volcanic ash spread by prevailing winds. This has affected airspace in the Denpasar airport region of Bali. The volcanic ash footprint has spread as far as parts of northern Australia, according to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM).
“Flights in and out of Denpasar, Bali have been disrupted today due to volcanic ash currently approaching Denpasar airport and airspace. Airlines and airport operators continue to conduct their own risk assessment of the situation,” said BoM in a statement.
Australian Carriers Cancel Flights
Earlier, major Australian carriers including Qantas and Virgin Australia and Jetstar began a series of flight cancellations due to the volcanic eruption.
Today, Jetstar provided an update, advising cancellations will continue until at least Thursday 14 November.
Virgin Australia has similarly provided an update, confirming the suspension of services for Wednesday 13 November.
IndiGo and Air India Announce Cancellations
Since then, Indian carriers IndiGo and Air India have followed suit and cancelled services to Bali. The ongoing cancellations have left thousands of travellers stranded in both Indonesia and Australia.
Over the past few days, at least 84 flights including 36 scheduled departures in 48 arrivals into Bali have been affected.
That number continues to rise as further airlines initiate flight cancellations. Cancellations on Wednesday have included airlines operating from Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Qatar.
It is understood that at least one flight operated by a New Zealand between Denpasar and Auckland has also been affected.
Two flights bound for Denpasar, Bali operated by Korean Air were forced to return due to the volcanic eruption. The two flights involved returned to Seoul Incheon International Airport on Tuesday 12 November.
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