Again?! Flights between Oz and Bali disrupted by Lombok volcano ash

Passengers wait for information on delayed and cancelled flights at Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport in Denpasar earlier this month. PHOTO: Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP/Getty

Just when we thought it was safe to travel again and proceed with normal flight bookings, volcanic ash spewed from Lombok’s Mt. Barujari (Rinjani) has got some flights cancelled again after being quiet for the past couple weeks. 

Both Virgin Australia and Jetstar have announced cancellations on their websites. 

Virgin cancelled all flights in and out of Bali and a 9 am flight this morning from Perth to Denpasar was turned around and sent back home mid-air, an hour into the flight. 

The airline stated that flights from Brisbane and Melbourne were “returning to origin” as well.

Two Jetstar flights to Bali were also turned around mid-air and return flights to Oz meant to use that same aircraft were cancelled. 

“We’ve been advised that the current ash cloud close to Bali is of a lesser scale than we have seen recently so we are hopeful that our customers won’t be disrupted for extended periods,” a Jetstar spokeswoman said, as quoted by ABC Australia. 

The status of flights tomorrow will depend on how conditions are looking and travelers are advised to close monitor updates from their respective airlines.