For the first time since the pandemic, thousands of tourists have faced flight cancellations to and from Bali. This time, it happened due to the eruption of Mount Lewotobi on the island of Flores.
Some travelers found themselves stranded in Bali and had to urgently search for new accommodation, while others had to quickly change their plans or even cancel their trip to the Island of the Gods. On November 13 alone, 90 flights were canceled at Ngurah Rai Airport, including 26 domestic and 64 international flights. This accounted for 20 percent of the airport’s daily flights.
According to Ahmad Syaugi Shahab, the CEO of Bali’s airport, the cancellations were largely due to the decisions of foreign airlines, prioritizing flight safety. The airport supported the airlines’ decisions, noting that captains are best informed of the conditions in the sky and can judge the safety of flights in such circumstances.
For affected passengers, airports and airlines provided options for refunds, rescheduling, or route changes. Ngurah Rai Airport prepared a support service area on the second floor of the international terminal, while domestic flights’ customer service areas were set up in the domestic terminal.
Currently, there is no volcanic ash in the vicinity of Bali’s airport. However, both the airlines and airport authorities, in cooperation with the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), continue to monitor the situation.
As of Thursday, the Bali airport display looked less alarming, with only a few canceled flights from Doha, Hanoi, and Shanghai. Some domestic flights to Lombok and Labuan Bajo remain suspended. Among those resuming flights are Singapore Airlines (SIA) and the budget carrier Scoot. Qantas and Jetstar are also flying to Bali. In an official statement, the Australian Qantas Group noted improved flight conditions. The Qantas Group mentioned they would continue to monitor weather changes and volcanic activity at Mount Lewotobi and plan to operate additional flights to compensate for the canceled ones.
AirAsia and Virgin Australia also pledged to resume canceled flights to and from Bali. “We will continue to reach out to guests whose flights were canceled to place them on recovery flights in the coming days,” Virgin Australia said in a statement. “Our team is working hard to rebook all affected guests to their destinations as safely and quickly as possible.”
In the past two weeks, the volcano has erupted more than 10 times, resulting in at least nine fatalities and forcing thousands to evacuate. On the night of Thursday, a dense column of ash and lava flows erupted from Mount Lewotobi’s crater.
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