Airlines cancel flights between Australia and Bali as Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki erupts

Travellers have been left stranded after airlines cancelled flights to and from holiday hotspot Bali. See if you are impacted.

Travellers have been left in flight chaos after three Australian airlines cancelled flights to and from holiday hotspot Bali following volcano eruptions that created a dangerous ash cloud.

Jetstar, Qantas, Virgin Australia and AirAsia have all grounded their flights in both directions between Bali and Australia due to a volcanic eruption which has caused a perilous 5.5km high ash cloud.

Travellers at Sydney Airport after multiple flights between Australia and Bali were cancelled. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, which has been erupting since last week, shows no signs of abating and continues to spew ash into the sky.

A Qantas flight that was scheduled to depart Sydney for Denpasar for 7am AEDT was axed.

Jetstar announced on Wednesday morning that all its flights to and from Denpasar Airport have been cancelled until at least Wednesday 2pm AEDT.

“Impacted customers have been notified directly and provided a range of options, including rebooking their travel for no charge or cancelling their bookings and obtaining a voucher to the value of their untravelled flights,” it said in a statement.

“We continue to monitor the situation closely and will provide an update on flights scheduled to operate after 1400 AEDT as soon as possible.”

One Aussie passenger at Sydney Airport, who had booked a surfing trip to Bali, told how his fight turned around mid-air to return back to Australia.

Residents watch the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki from Lewolaga village in East Flores, East Nusa Tenggara. Picture: AFP.

“We got halfway across Aussie and had to turn around midway. The captain said over the loudspeaker there has been a volcanic eruption,” Hugo Herron told Seven’s Sunrise.

He said he was not waiting at the airport in the hope of getting a flight later on Wednesday.

“We got home last night around midnight and had to be back at the airport at 4am.

“As soon as we got here, they said you have to wait until later this arvo, around 3.30pm, they don’t still know if they’re flying out.”

An image courtesy of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency shows the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki as seen from the Eputobi rest area in East Flores, East Nusa Tenggara.

He said he felt for the people of Indonesia over the eruption, which killed nine people on Sunday.

More than 16,000 villagers living closest to the crater have been evacuated.

An AirAsia plane which left Perth just before 7pm on Tuesday was one of the last planes to leave Australia bound for Bali.

A number of Qantas flights left on time on Tuesday, but a flight from Sydney on Tuesday evening was cancelled.

Virgin Australia flights cancelled four flights on Tuesday: two inbound and two outbound.

Anyone who has experienced a flight cancellation or delay is advised to liaise directly with their airline.

WHAT FLIGHTS ARE OPERATING?

While the majority of flights between Bali and Australia have been cancelled, Batik Air issued a final boarding call to passengers on flight ID-6007 from Denpasar to Perth at 12.25pm, AEDT.

Air Asia flights are still scheduled to depart for Perth at 5.05pm and 7pm.

So far, Malindo Air flight is set to travel from Denpasar to Perth at 9.05pm.

Jetstar said all flights to and from Bali have been cancelled until at least midday (AEDT on Thursday.

“We understand that this is a difficult situation for impacted customers,” the airline said in a statement.

“Safety is always our number one priority and we thank customers for their patience and understanding.”

The airline said passengers affected could rebook their flight at no extra charge up to 21days later or cancel their booking and receive a credit voucher.

Passengers at Sydney airport as flights from Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia have all been affected by the volcano. Picture: Gaye Gerard

Qantas said it’s offering passengers affected by the ash cloud cancellations a fee-free refund, travel credit or date change.

The airline has delayed two return flights from Sydney and continues to closely monitor the situation, a spokesperson said.

“Due to volcanic ash caused by the Mount Lewotobi eruption in Indonesia, it’s currently not safe to operate flights to and from Bali,” the airline said in a statement.

“As a result, a number of Qantas flights to and from Denpasar Airport in Bali have been disrupted. Impacted customers will be notified directly and provided with their options.

“We understand that this is a frustrating situation for customers with travel planned. Please be assured that safety is always our number one priority and we thank you for your patience and understanding.”

In a statement, Virgin Australia said all flights in and out of Denpasar were cancelled on Wednesday.

“The safety of our guests and crew is our highest priority. Adverse weather due to the volcano in Indonesia has resulted in Virgin Australia cancelling all flights in and out of Denpasar today (13 November).

“We regret the inconvenience this has caused our passengers, and our team is working hard to ensure all passengers booked on our services get to their destination safely and as soon as possible.”

The airline said its team of meteorologists was continuing to monitor the situation and that Virgin Australia was “proactively communicating to our guests affected and recommending customers check the latest flight status information on our website”.

Passengers seeking entitlements or refunds are being referred to the airline’s website to apply for travel credits and compensation.

Indonesian airline Garuda has delayed its scheduled 10am flight from Sydney to Denpasar to 4pm on Wednesday.

HOW LONG WILL THE ERUPTION LAST?

Patrice Rey, a professor in geology in the school of geoscience at the University of Sydney, said smoke from the eruption could remain an issue for weeks to come, potentially destroying holiday and schoolies trips for thousands of travellers.

“It’s not impossible for people to be stuck there for a few weeks,” he said.

“Plumes can extend for kilometres, at 10 to 15km in elevation, and any planes travelling in the area would be impacted.”

“If the volcanic activity is ongoing, the plume is still being fed by the volcano and could stay there for much longer.”

Professor Rey explained Bali is an attractive destination for holidaymakers, with picturesque mountains and rainforests, because it’s an active volcanic site.

Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki is part of a chain of about 80 volcanoes.

Residents watch the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki from Eputobi village in Titihena. Picture: AFP

While it’s possible that toxic gases and ash could fall over surrounding cities and towns, it’s likely the wind will push the smoke clouds out to sea.

“That shouldn’t cause massive problems for locals,” he said.

“Problems occur when the eruption happens very fast and in the form of thick clouds and gases, mixed with very hot volcanic ash, but that’s not the kind of eruption that we’re looking at here.”

Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki has been slowly erupting for more than a week.
By comparison, the eruption of Mt St Helens in Washington State in 1980 measured four on that scale.

AFFECTED AUSSIES SPEAK OUT

Australians affected by the volcano nightmare have taken to the Bali Bogan Facebook page, which boasts nearly 400,000 followers, to vent their frustration.

One man said he boarded a flight at Brisbane on Tuesday afternoon, only to be stranded for several hours on the tarmac before being told by ground staff to “find a hotel and get a taxi”.

“Hotel prices sky rocketed by 8pm, drove the car back home instead got a flight with Qantas via Sydney for today (Wednesday). Fingers crossed it still flies out and around the cloud of ash that’s no where near Denpasar, very disappointing,” the man wrote.

Another said: “Jq60 was cancelled tonight. Was due to go home from Bali. Got an email about the cancelled flight and given an option to rebook for another day free of charge.

“Ended up booking Thursday direct flight back to Brisbane as all the Wednesday flights were fully booked or stop overs (16 hour flights).”

However, one person said Garuda airline was still flying and not affected by the nightmare.

“Garuda own the airspace over Indonesia and can alter their flight path to avoid ash,” the person said.

“Whereas the other carriers have specific paths to follow. We found out the hard way in 2019 and always go Garuda since…my daughter boarding in 10 minutes from Melbourne on Garuda.”