Virgin Australia and Jetstar have both cancelled flight to Bali as unfavourable winds blow the ash cloud from Mount Raung over the holiday island.
Virgin Australia has cancelled 10 flights to and from Bali while Jetstar cancelled four flights Tuesday evening and has delayed flights today (Wednesday Aug. 5)
Jetstar advises passengers not to travel to the airport but monitor the website.
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Both airlines are trying to advise passengers by SMS.
Virgin Australia said that it will provide another update at 7pm Eastern Australian Time.
Virgin Australia will provide another update on tomorrow’s operations to the media around 7pm this evening.
“We continue to monitor the situation closely. The safety of our guests and crew is our highest priority and we will keep customers updated as new information becomes available,” a Virgin Australia spokesperson said.
Virgin Australia is advising its passengers currently in Bali not to travel to Denpasar Airport without a confirmed rebooked flight.
“Guests whose flights have been cancelled as a result of the volcanic activity will be able to change their booking to another date or alternative destination before August 30 without fee or receive a full travel credit by contacting our Guest Contact Centre on 13 67 89 (from Australia), 00 1803 061 2002 or +61 7 3295 2296 from other international locations,” the airline said.
Bali’s Denpasar Airport remains open as at 10am Australian Eastern Time but this may change.
The airport handles 300 flights and 40,000 passengers a day.
Last month Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority warned Australian airlines to stay away from the ash cloud because of the danger to passengers, crew and possible damage to the plane.
Last year Jetstar had a A$20 million repair bill for one plane after a night flight from Perth to Jakarta entered an ash cloud that was not forecast.
A special Airbus volcanic ash report says ash clouds should be avoided “by all means due to the extreme hazard”.
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