[JAKARTA] At least two dozen flights to and from the Indonesian resort island of Bali, including Singapore Airlines flights from Changi Airport, have been cancelled after a volcano in the archipelago’s east erupted, shooting an ash tower 10km into the sky.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a 1,703m twin-peaked volcano on the eastern tourist island of Flores, erupted on Jun 17, with the authorities raising its alert status to the highest level.
The flights cancelled included Jetstar Asia and Virgin Australia flights to cities across Australia, with Air India, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and China’s Juneyao Airlines also cancelling flights “due to volcano”, Bali’s international airport website said on Jun 18.
Checks by The Straits Times on the Changi Airport website showed that several flights flying to either Bali or Jakarta were cancelled by Singapore Airlines, Scoot and Jetstar on the morning of Jun 18.
Garuda, Indonesia’s AirAsia, BatikAir and Citilink airlines seem to have been unaffected and are scheduled to depart to Jakarta, while low-cost carrier Transnusa pushed back its 11.45 am flight to later this afternoon.
Flights to Jakarta seem to be unaffected on Jun 19, as of the morning of Jun 18.
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Several domestic AirAsia flights leaving for Labuan Bajo on Flores were also cancelled.
“Ngurah Rai is still operating normally but it depends on the flight schedule, but some of the flights are cancelled due to a volcano. It depends on the route and also the airline,” a Bali airport customer service agent who declined to give their name told AFP.
Volcanic ash rained down on several villages around Lewotobi Laki-Laki and forced the evacuation of at least one village late on Jun 17, the country’s disaster mitigation agency said.
There were no immediate reports of damages or casualties.
In November 2024, Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki erupted multiple times, killing nine people, cancelling scores of international flights to the tourist island of Bali and forcing thousands to evacuate.
Laki-Laki, which means “man” in Indonesian, is twinned with a calmer volcano named after the Indonesian word for “woman”.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”. AFP, THE STRAITS TIMES
