Tourist alert as Bali volcano erupts

AUSSIE travellers are on high alert after Balinese volcano Mount Agung erupted, sending a plume of volcanic ash 2km into the sky.

Jetstar passengers experienced delays on flights coming out of Denpasar last night, a spokeswoman told news.com.au.

The airline was continuing to monitor the situation and said the disruptions last night were minimal.

Departing Virgin Airlines flights were also briefly affected, according to 7 News.

The active volcano erupted at 3.21am yesterday and the thick ash column was blown to the southwest, causing a drizzle of volcanic ash in the Karangasem, Bangli and Klunglung districts, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for the national disaster mitigation agency.

There were no immediate reports of casualties but the volcano’s status remains on alert, or level three of four possible levels. Authorities continued to impose a 4km exclusion zone around the active volcano.

Two other volcanoes, popular with tourists on the island of Java, also continue to erupt.

Mount Bromo in East Java and Mount Merapi in Yogyakarta remain on standby, with exclusion zones also in place.