Volcanic eruption grounds Bali flights, leaving travellers stranded
Holidaymakers have been stranded at airports in Australia and Indonesia after a severe volcanic eruption near Bali forced more than a dozen flights to be cancelled.
Qantas, Jetstar, Air Asia and Virgin have all halted flights for safety reasons.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki spews volcanic materials during an eruption, in East Flores, Indonesia.Credit: AP
The emergency began on Sunday when Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki volcano erupted, spewing an ash column nine kilometres high.
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.
Significant ash clouds have severely impacted visibility in the area, blocking flight paths and making it unsafe to travel.
“Due to volcanic ash caused by Mount Lewotobi in Indonesia, it is currently not safe to operate to and from Bali,” Jetstar said in a statement on Wednesday.
All of its flights to and from Denpasar Airport have been cancelled until 2pm Wednesday.
“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.
At Melbourne Airport, four flights to Denpasar Airport have been cancelled since Tuesday afternoon.
Five flights from Sydney were cancelled over the same period, while multiple overnight flights were delayed.
The eruption in Indonesia has killed nine people.Credit: AP
One flight from Sydney was two hours into its journey before it was forced to turn around and return.
Arrivals to Australia from Indonesia have also been affected. Three flights have been unable to return to Melbourne, as well as three flights to Sydney.
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Some passengers have been left without accommodation, and many unsure of the next steps amid the airport chaos.
“It’s pretty tricky. We sort of tried to escalate it looking for a hotel room, but they won’t put us up… A lot of people got put out pretty badly by it,” one passenger told Nine News.
Virgin still plans to operate a flight out of Sydney at 5.45pm, while a Qantas flight is due to depart Sydney International Airport around 4.30pm.
A spokesperson for Qantas said that the flight is subject to conditions clearing up as the airline continues to monitor the ash clouds.
International carriers Garuda Indonesia and Batik Air Malaysia have continued to operate flights from Denpasar to Australia as recently as Wednesday morning.
But flights back to Bali have been delayed for as long as 12 hours.
The volcanic status in Indonesia has been categorised as “above normal”, according to the Indonesian board for disaster affairs. Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki has been given a level four alert, the most serious warning.
On Monday, the most serious eruption killed nine and injured 64 others in Indonesia. More than 16,000 residents from villages near the crater have since been told to evacuate. Makeshift emergency shelters were constructed after the eruption, which destroyed key infrastructure like schools and houses.
Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki is one of the 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia. The country is prone to earthquakes, landslides and volcanic activity because of its position on a series of seismic fault lines.
With AAP, AP and Jessica McSweeney
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