Many Bali holiday flights cancelled

MELBOURNE: Thousands of tourists had to put their dreams of a Bali holiday on hold yesterday after flights from New Zealand and Australian cities were cancelled when Indonesia’s Mount Agung began spewing water vapour and ash into the atmosphere.

Air New Zealand yesterday said flight NZ245 from Auckland to Denpasar and the return flight NZ246 from Denpasar to Auckland had been cancelled.

Jetstar scrapped its flights from Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane yesterday morning to the tourist hot spot due to renewed activity at the volcano.

Qantas yesterday said it was not ‘‘currently safe to operate flights to and from Denpasar Airport’’ after Mt Agung began shooting ash 2000m into the air on Thursday.

Villagers living beneath rumbling Mount Agung began fleeing their homes yesterday after reddish flames lit up the volcano’s crater overnight.

Denpasar airport said 85 international flights and 191 domestic flights were cancelled, affecting nearly 16,000 people.

Last evening about 6.30 the airport was reopened after a 12hour closure but two other nearby airports in East Java were kept closed until 9pm. It was unclear how long the National Disaster Management Agency would decide to keep the airports open, but the agency was closely monitoring volcanic activity and wind direction. — AAP/DPA/Reuters