Bali flights cancelled due to Volcanic Ash

[ramjet555]

Bali flights cancelled due to volcanic ash cloud


Chloe Brooker, Neelimer Choahan


August 1, 2016
[img alt=Flights in and out of Bali have been disrupted by a volcanic ash cloud.]http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/im ... 976569.jpg[/img]
Flights in and out of Bali have been disrupted by a volcanic ash cloud. Photo: Antara Fot




The bad luck continued for travellers when the two planes were grounded due to volcanic activity from Mt Rinjani on the Indonesian island of Lombok, next to Bali. The volcanic activity also affected AirAsia and Jetstar flights.


[img alt=Mt Rinjani, on the Indonesian island of Lombok.]http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/im ... 976569.jpg[/img]


Mt Rinjani, on the Indonesian island of Lombok. Photo: Shutterstock


A Tigerair spokeswoman said the airline's service from Melbourne to Bali was diverted to Darwin before it received advice from their meteorologists and the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre that flying conditions into and out of Denpasar Airport were not safe.
"Tigerair Australia is doing everything it can to assist passengers to get to their destination as soon as possible and is planning a recovery service from Darwin to Bali [on Tuesday]," she said.


She said the airline was trying to find all affected customers in Darwin hotel rooms to spend the night.
Meanwhile, a Virgin Australia spokeswoman said its morning flight from Brisbane was also forced to turn around to Darwin where passengers remained on Monday night.
"Our team of experts determined that conditions were not suitable for operating in and out of Denpasar [on Monday]," she said.
"We continue to monitor the situation closely and will keep customers updated once new information becomes available."
A further five Tigerair flights and three Virgin flights into and out of Denpasar have also been cancelled. 
The Tigerair spokeswoman said the airline would resume normal operations to Bali from Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth as soon as it was safe, and would provide an update early Tuesday morning.
An AirAsia spokeswoman said its betwen Darwin and Perth Denpasar were not impacted. However, those bound for Lombok via AirAsia's Kuala Lumpur hub on Monday were affected by the eruption of Mount Rinjani.
"It is an operational safety measure taken by the airline in such situations, as volcanic ash could compromise the safety and performance of the aircraft. AirAsia will only resume normal flight services for the route once the situation improves and safe flying conditions are met," she said.
She said AirAsia would continue to monitor the situation closely and  keep guests updated. However, the spokeswoman advised passengers to check the status of their flights via the airline's website before departing to the airport. 
A Jetstar spokesman said some of their overnight flights to and from Bali were affected.[b] [/b]
"We have cancelled six return flights and have had two flights return to Australia after conditions changed during the flight," he said.
"Our pilots and meteorologists will assess the latest information from the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre early Tuesday morning and make a decision about flights scheduled for the rest of the day."
He said the airline put passenger safety before schedule and would only commence flying when it was safe to do so.
Monday's eruption is the third time the volcano has disrupted travel to Indonesia since November.
Previous eruptions have caused major chaos for travellers heading to and from Bali, sometimes for weeks at a time.
[b]Tigerair flights cancelled to and from Bail on Monday:[/b]
TT001 Melbourne to Bali (diverted to Darwin)
TT018 Bali to Perth
TT019 Perth to Bali
TT010 Bali to Adelaide
TT011 Adelaide to Bali
TT008 Bali to Melbourne
[b]Virgin flights cancelled to and from Bail on Monday:[/b]
VA41 Brisbane to Bali (diverted to Darwin)
VA65 Sydney to Bali (diverted to Sydney)
VA44 Bali to Brisbane
VA70 Bali to Sydney
[b]AirAsia flights cancelled to and from Bali on Monday:[/b]
AK 306 from Kuala Lumpur to Lombok
AK 307 from Lombok to Kuala Lumpur
[b]Jetstar flights cancelled to and from Bali on Monday [/b]
JQ37 from  Sydney to Denpasar
JQ35 from Melbourne to Denpasar
JQ116 from Perth to Denpasar
JQ127 from Adelaide to Denpasar
JQ43 from Melbourne to Denpasar
JQ102 from Townsville to Denpasar
JQ83 from Darwin to Denpasar
[b]Flights from Bali [/b]
JQ44 from Denpasar to Melbourne
JQ116 from Denpasar to Singapore
JQ38 from Denpasar to Sydney
JQ36 from Denpasar to Melbourne
JQ128 from Denpasar to Adelaide
[b]Jetstar flights cancelled to and from Bali on Tuesday[/b]
JQ117 from Singapore to Denpasar
[b]Flights from Bali[/b]
JQ101 from Denpasar to Townsville
JQ82 from Denpasar to Darwin




http://www.theage.com.au/national/bali- ... qinxu.html

[Eric Janson]

Happened a number of times last year as well - different Volcano(s).

We normally use Bali/Lombok/Surabaya as enroute alternates when we fly to/from Australia.

We get detailed briefings on the ash clouds (height and location + movement). The airport may be useable but a diversion may mean descending through the ash cloud so we may not be able to use the airport as an alternate.

Different issues flying in different parts of the world!