Australian airlines cancel flights again after latest volcanic eruption

Several Australian airlines have cancelled flights between Bali and Australia on Monday afternoon after a volcano erupted and ejected a cloud of ash 18 kilometres into the sky.

Jetstar, Virgin Australia and Qantas have had to alter their services to and from the popular holiday destination for the second time in a month after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki’s eruption in June also caused cancellations and delays.

Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki erupts on Monday. Credit: AP

On Monday, Indonesia’s Geology Agency published a statement saying it had recorded the volcano unleashing searing gas clouds during the eruption. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Virgin Australia cancelled three return services and would monitor ash cloud movement over the next day to determine whether flights on Tuesday would operate, though some delays were possible.

A spokesperson for the airline said guests were encouraged to closely monitor their flight statuses for cancellations.

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“Some Virgin Australia Bali services have been cancelled following the eruption of Mount Lewotobi earlier today. The safety of our guests and crew is our highest priority and our team of expert meteorologists are closely monitoring the situation and ash cloud activity.”

Jetstar also confirmed it has cancelled a number of flights due to the volcanic ash. Two Qantas services were also delayed between Melbourne, Sydney and Bali.

A spokesperson for the Qantas group said “our meteorologists and operations teams are closely monitoring the movement of volcanic ash from the latest eruption of Mount Lewotobi in Indonesia. Safety is always our top priority and we will contact customers directly if their flight is disrupted.”

The country’s volcano monitoring agency had increased the volcano’s alert status to the highest level after an eruption on June 18, and more than doubled the exclusion zone to a seven-kilometre radius since then as eruptions became more frequent. It also said that ash from the volcano had fallen on nearby villages.

An eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in November killed nine people and injured dozens. It also erupted in March.

The 1584-metre mountain is a twin volcano with Mount Lewotobi Perempuan in the district of Flores Timur, several hundred kilometres east of Bali.

with AP

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