Airlines around Asia ground Bali flights due to ash from erupting volcano
Singapore Airlines, Scoot, Jetstar and AirAsia flights were among those affected by Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki spews ash and smoke during an eruption as seen from Lewolaga village in Titihena, East Nusa Tenggara, on Nov 13, 2024. (Photo: AFP/Arnold Welianto)
JAKARTA: Airlines in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia and Singapore cancelled flights to and from the Indonesian resort island of Bali on Wednesday (Nov 13), after a nearby volcano again catapulted an ash tower kilometres into the sky.
Australia's Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia all grounded flights after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on Flores island spewed a 9km tower a day earlier.
"Virgin Australia has made some changes to its current flight schedule, due to the impacts of the volcano in Indonesia," the airline said, listing scrapped flights to Sydney and Melbourne.
Jetstar said all flights to and from Bali would be halted until noon on Thursday.
"Due to volcanic ash caused by the Mount Lewotobi eruption in Indonesia, it is currently not safe to operate flights to and from Bali," the company said in an advisory.
SIA, SCOOT FLIGHTS
In response to CNA queries, a Singapore Airlines (SIA) spokesperson confirmed that two SIA flights were cancelled after the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki.
"SIA is assisting to rebook affected customers on alternative flights," the spokesperson added.
Scoot said that it has retimed and renumbered several flights to and from Bali due to the volcanic activity. It has also cancelled two flights to and from Lombok.
"For affected customers of the cancelled flights, Scoot is assisting to re-accommodate them onto alternative flights, where possible," said the airline in response to queries from CNA.
"Alternatively, affected customers may also request for a full refund if they choose not to continue with their travel," the spokesperson added.
SIA, Scoot flights to and from Bali
Cancelled SIA flights
- SQ948 departing from Singapore to Bali on Nov 12
- SQ949 departing from Bali to Singapore on Nov 13
Retimed Scoot Flights
- TR280, originally scheduled to depart Singapore for Bali at 7am on Nov 13, was retimed to depart at 11.15am on the same day
- TR281, originally scheduled to depart Bali for Singapore at 10.55am on Nov 13, was retimed to depart at 2.55pm on the same day.
- TR282, originally scheduled to depart Singapore for Bali at 3.20pm on Nov 13, was retimed to depart at 3.05pm on the same day.
- TR283, originally scheduled to depart Bali for Singapore at 7.05 pm on Nov 13, was retimed to depart at 6.50pm on the same day.
Multiple eruptions from the 1,703m twin-peaked volcano in recent weeks have killed nine people with 31 injured and more than 11,000 evacuated, Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency said on Tuesday.
Eruptions can pose serious risks to flights, disgorging fine ash that can damage jet engines and scour a plane's windscreen to the point of invisibility.
Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific also listed its flights as cancelled, rescheduling routes to and from Bali until Thursday.
Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia and India's IndiGo also listed flights as cancelled on Wednesday, according to an AFP journalist at Bali's international airport.
"Volcanic ash poses a significant threat to safe operations of the aircraft in the vicinity of volcanic clouds," said AirAsia as it announced several cancellations.
REFUNDS, RESCHEDULING, RE-ROUTING
Ahmad Syaugi Shahab, general manager of Bali's international airport, said in a statement on Wednesday that 12 domestic and 22 international flights were affected a day ago, without identifying the routes.
He did not provide details about affected flights on Wednesday's schedule.
"Due to this natural event impacting flight operations, airlines are offering affected passengers the options of refunds, rescheduling, or re-routing," he added.
Bali's international airport operator PT Angkasa Pura Indonesia said on Wednesday it had conducted tests in its airspace and said no volcanic ash was detected, saying the airport was "operating as normal".
Lewotobi erupted again from midnight Wednesday until early morning, and a large ash column could be seen pouring from its crater, an AFP journalist nearby said.
Laki-Laki, which means "man" in Indonesian, is twinned with a calmer volcano named after the Indonesian word for "woman".
Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire".
