Flights to Bali remained grounded Tuesday as airlines began allowing customers to switch their flights to alternative destinations to avoid the holiday island’s volcano crisis.
But those wanting to head to the substitute destinations will need to move quickly as the busy summer holiday period approaches and seats become difficult to obtain.
Thousands of tourists are stranded on the Indonesian island as the erupting Mount Agung volcano continues to affect the airport in Denpasar.
Virgin Australia, Jetstar and AirAisia cancelled flights for Tuesday as the airport remained closed due to ash from the eruption. Ash can significantly damage aircraft engines and in extreme cases shut them down.
Read: Insurance policies may not cover Bali travellers.
Jetstar said customers booked on flights over the next week could instead choose to travel to a range of alternative international destinations.
The offer applies to passengers booked from Australia to Bali from November 25 until December 4, inclusive, for departures on or before December 14 with return dates until December 28.
The flights are subject to availability and depend on the departure city. There’s also a catch: travel to and from the departure city is not covered.
The destinations are: Phuket (departing from Melbourne and Sydney), Ho Chi Minh City (departing from Melbourne and Sydney), Singapore (departing from Melbourne and Perth), Nadi, Fiji (departing from Sydney), Tokyo Narita (departing from Cairns and Gold Coast) and Osaka (departing from Cairns).
Customers still wanting to travel with Jetstar to Bali can change their date of travel to Bali up until December 14, subject to volcanic activity.
Those no longer wishing to travel can receive a voucher to the credit of their booking.
Virgin Australia is offering passengers the option to change their bookings without change fees to Nadi or Vanuatu’s Port Vila no later than 30 days from the original booking date.
They can also receive a full travel credit or change their booking to the same destination on a different date without a fare difference being charged for travel no later than 30 days from the original booking date.
A third option is to change their booking to a different destination for travel no later than 30 days from the original booking date, with fare differences to be covered by the guest.
Airlines are assessing their options on a day-by-day basis and are set to take a significant financial hit if the eruption continues through the holidays.
Jetstar Group chief executive Gareth Evans said Jetstar was doing everything it could to minimise the impact the volcanic activity was having on people’s holiday plans.
“Our teams are working hard to assist customers who have been impacted by flight disruptions over the past few days due to volcanic ash in and around Bali,” Mr Evans said.
“Volcanic activity is volatile and our senior pilots assess whether it is safe to fly on a day-to-day basis, with the latest forecast from Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre.
“Whilst this is out of our control, we understand how frustrating the element of uncertainty can be on holiday plans which is why we are offering a range of alternative holiday options to those who no longer wish to travel to Bali.
“When it is safe to fly, we will add additional flights to get our customers moving.”
