Virgin Australia has joined Qantas and Jetstar in restarting flights to Bali after problems in recent days with ash from the troublesome Mt Agung volcano caused a spate of flight cancelations.
Airlines began flying back to the holiday island on Friday after a change in winds that had previously blown ash towards Bali’s main airport and a decrease in seismic activity at Mt Agung.
Indonesian Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Centre chief Kasbani told The Weekend Australian volcanic activity had gradually declined since Wednesday and there was no indication there would be a bigger eruption.
“There could still be more eruptions but they are likely to be small eruptions,” he said.
Virgin said in a Saturday morning travel alert that its experts continued to closely monitor the in consultation with the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in Darwin.
“As flying conditions have improved, our team of safety experts have declared it safe to continue normal operations,’’ it said. “Therefore, Virgin Australia’s regular services between Australia and Denpasar have resumed, subject to conditions remaining favourable
“ All passengers flying are encouraged to check the Flight Status page before proceeding to the airport.
“As this situation remains unpredictable flights may be cancelled at short notice if conditions deteriorate.
Jetstar and Qantas operated flights to Bali Friday night after a shift in the wind and a drop in seismic activity from the Mt Agung volcano allowed the island’s main airport in Denpasar to reopen.
Ngurah Rai airport was closed early Friday due to ash from the erupting volcano but re-opened about 2.30pm local time after originally planning to stay closed until 7pm.
Jetstar said in a 7pm update Friday: “Flying conditions around Denpasar Airport have improved and the airport has reopened. As a result, our scheduled flights to and from Bali have resumed this afternoon.
“At this stage, all scheduled flights on Saturday are planned to operate, subject to any change in conditions.
“Volcanic activity is unpredictable, so please be aware that conditions can change rapidly. We will update you immediately if there is any change to our schedule.
“If you are on a scheduled flight, before heading to the airport please check the status of your flight from the Flight status page on Jetstar.com or via our smartphone app.”
Qantas also planned to operate flights Friday night, again subject to any change in conditions. The airline operates one Sydney-Bali and one Melbourne-Bali flight daily.
“Our team of senior pilots and meteorologists will continue to monitor the situation and we thank our customers for their understanding,”the airline said.
“We advise customers booked to travel to Bali over the coming days to check their flight status on Qantas.com for the most up to date information.”
AirAsia and Virgin Australia took a more cautious stance on Friday night.
AirAsia did not operate flights Friday night to either I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar and Juanda International Airport in Surabaya.
It had not updated its travel alert by 11am Australian East Coast time Saturday but indicated it, too, was planning to restart flights.
“This is due to the ash cloud from the Mount Agung eruption in Bali, Indonesia, which is forecasted to remain within the proximity of both airports,” it said Friday.
“Several flights from and to Denpasar and Surabaya will be postponed to tomorrow, June 30.”
Virgin Australia canceled the remainder of its flights to and from Bali for Friday.
return flights to Cairns, Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane in what looked set to be a disaster for travelers heading on holiday from those Australian states starting school holidays.
AirAsia also announced it was canceling more than 40 flights into and out of Bali
“Most of AirAsia flights from and to Denpasar, Bali have been canceled today,” the airline said early Friday. “Several flights remain as scheduled until further notice.
“AirAsia will notify guests of their flight status via email and SMS. AirAsia strongly encourages all guests to update their contact details at airasia.com to ensure that they are notified of any updates to their flights.”
Earlier in the week, the Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation (VONA) said a continuous emission had been observed at the volcano and was reaching a height of more than 23,000ft.
The ash cloud had been moving to the west south-west and there was increasing seismic activity, it said.
VONA put the color code at orange — one below the top red level — meaning the volcano is exhibiting heightened unrest with an increased likelihood of eruption or an eruption is underway with no or minor ash emission.
The morning cancellations were in addition to flights axed by AirAsia, Jetstar, and Virgin Australia on Thursday night.
WATCH Virgin Australia’s volcanic ash assessment video.
Mt Agung caused widespread disruptions towards the end of 2017, throwing the travel plans of thousands of holidaymakers into chaos.
More than 38,000 local residents have been evacuated to shelters and a 12km exclusive zone placed around the volcano, which is 70km from Kuta.
An eruption in 1963 killed almost 2000 people and was of the explosive intensity.
