Ash from Mount Kelud volcanic eruption grounds Virgin flights, impacts Qantas, Jetstar

VIRGIN, Qantas and Jetstar flights have been disrupted by a volcanic eruption, with all Virgin flights to Bali, Phuket, Christmas Island and Cocos Island cancelled.

Volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Kelud covers motorcycles in Kediri, East Java.

ALL Virgin flights to Bali, Phuket, Christmas Island and Cocos Island have been cancelled and some turned back mid-air to Australia due to volcanic ash from the erupting Mount Kelud volcano.

Ten flights, including services from Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, were grounded or forced to turn around in mid-air today as three airports in Indonesia were closed.

Hundreds of thousands of people were ordered to evacuate after the volcano on the main island of Java erupted late yesterday.

A Virgin Australia spokesman said it monitoring the weather situation in consultation with the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in Darwin and Bureau of Meteorology and would recommence normal operations as soon as possible.

Passengers were urged to monitor updates on the airline’s website or social media, while those directly affected were being contacted and accommodation arranged where necessary, he said.

The volcanic ash shrouded a large swath of Indonesia’s most densely populated island.

Virgin Australia was not the only airline affected by the volcanic ash, which can potentially affect visibility or damage aircraft engines.

Qantas flights QF41 Sydney to Jakarta and QF42 Jakarta to Sydney had been delayed until tomorrow, while flight paths from Australia to Singapore had been altered, a Qantas spokeswoman said.

A Jetstar spokesman said a Jetstar Asia service between Perth and Singapore had turned back earlier in the day because of conditions, but that other flights had continued uninterrupted.

The airline continued to monitor the situation, the spokesman said, with a flight from Darwin to Denpasar due to depart this evening.

Residents evacuate to a safe place in Malang, East Java province.

TV images have shown ash and rocks raining down on villages near to Mount Kelud, while AFP correspondents at the scene saw terrified locals covered in ash fleeing in cars and on motorbikes towards evacuation centres.

A series of huge blasts unleashed stones and gravel, causing panic among villagers who immediately fled to safer areas.

Muhammad Hendrasto, head of the country’s volcano monitoring agency, said the mountain in the Kediri regency in East Java province erupted late on Thursday, about 90 minutes after authorities raised its status to the highest level.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Mr Hendrasto urged about 200,000 people living in 36 villages within 10km of the crater to evacuate.

“It is spewing lava right now while gravel rain has fallen in some areas,’’ Mr Hendrasto said.

“We worry that the gravel rain can endanger people who are evacuating.’’

Volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Kelud covers motorcycles in Kediri, East Java.

Many of the men displaced tried to return to their homes near the foot of the volcano early this morning to gather their families’ clothing and valuables, but a continuous downpour of volcanic ash and rocks sent them running back.

At a temporary shelter in the village of Bladak, some 10km from the volcano’s crater, around 400 people, including children, slept on the floor wearing safety masks.

The Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation said there was little chance of another eruption as powerful as Thursday night’s, but tremors around the volcano could still be felt.

In 1990, Kelud kicked out searing fumes and lava that killed more than 30 people and injured hundreds.

In 1919, a powerful explosion that reportedly could be heard hundreds of miles away killed at least 5160.

Earlier this month, Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra province erupted as authorities were allowing thousands of villagers who had been evacuated to return to its slopes, killing 16 people.

Sinabung has been erupting for four months, forcing the evacuation of more than 30,000 people.