Jetstar cancels 9 flights from Bali
DENPASAR: Australian budget airline Jetstar has cancelled nine flights out of Bali yesterday due to a threat from volcanic ash, signalling that a departure window for visitors stranded by an erupting volcano may be closing.
The move followed a forecast that volcanic ash could hit operations at Bali airport, about 60km southwest of the erupting Mount Agung volcano, the airline said.
The airport’s closure from Monday through part of Wednesday stranded thousands of travellers from Australia, China and other nations before the winds changed and flights resumed.
A column of white smoke and ash hung above Mount Agung, where tremors continue, meteorological officials said, although with decreasing frequency, while lava sparks flash at night.
Ash was visible to the southeast of Mount Agung, the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre said, with reports indicating emissions of steam and ash.
“Volcanological sources indicate a larger eruption is possible,” it said on its website.
However, Indonesia’s Transport Ministry said, the wind direction was blowing the ash, which could be hazardous to flying, towards the east and the airport was clear for normal operations.
Jetstar and its parent, Qantas Airways Ltd, had planned up to 18 flights yesterday to ferry 4,300 passengers home to Australia, including one by a Qantas 747 jet.
But, nine Jetstar flights would be cancelled after “a sudden change in today’s forecast for this (yesterday) evening in Bali,” Jetstar updated on its website.
Other airlines with regular Bali flights, including Singapore Airlines Ltd, Malaysia’s AirAsia Bhd and Garuda Indonesia, have not posted updates on flight plans for yesterday evening on their websites.
Airlines avoid flying through volcanic ash as it can damage aircraft engines, clogging fuel and cooling systems, hampering pilot visibility and even causing engine failure.
A tropical cyclone south of Java had altered wind direction in the area, including Bali, where it could bring heavy rains and strong winds until today, the Indonesian Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysics agency warned.