A sudden wind shift has thrown into disarray the evacuation plans for up to 8000 Australians stranded in Bali.
Yesterday Virgin Australia and Jetstar had to turn back most of their flights before reaching Bali as the ash cloud from Mt Rinjani swept back across the holiday island.
However one Virgin Australia and two Jetstar flights were able to depart Bali before the wind change.
Late yesterday Virgin Australia said that it will continue to assess the ability to safely fly passengers between Australia and Denpasar over the coming days.
The airline also offered passengers who have not yet commenced their journeys to Bali the option of flying to a number of alternative holiday destinations including Fiji, Vanuatu, Thailand and Hamilton Island.
Jetstar said that its senior pilots and expert operational team had determined that flying conditions have become unsafe.
It added that its teams are working “to return our customers from Bali safely as soon as possible, but the unpredictable conditions in the vicinity of Denpasar Airport have once again impacted our intended services.”
Jetstar urged its passengers to keep checking its website for the latest updates.
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