News
Volcano ash fall out closes Bali’s Denpasar Airport
December 1st 2017
Denpasar Airport, gateway to the Indonesian resort island of Bali, remained closed on Monday, Tuesday and up until 3pm local time on Wednesday as volcanic ash from nearby Mount Agung moved south. Read More » Thousands of passengers were and continue to be stranded on the island, while others already en route to Bali were diverted or had their flights cancelled.
The local national disaster agency has issued the highest level warning in anticipation of “all possibilities and risk of disaster”.
Thick ash clouds continue hovering between 2,000 to 3,500 metres over the island. A bright glow on the summit of the volcano suggested a larger eruption was “imminent”, the disaster agency warned.
“All affected airlines are closely monitoring developments, including updates provided by the Indonesian authorities, meteorological service providers and the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre for the region which is based in Darwin,” the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) said on Tuesday.
Denpasar Airport reopened on Wednesday afternoon, but authorities caution the airfield could close again with very short notice depending on a change in the direction of the wind and the availability of air corridors.
“The final decision to operate rests with individual airlines, based on comprehensive risk assessment methodologies. Different airlines may reach different conclusions depending on specific operational factors, such as the duration of the proposed flight, the availability of suitable alternate airports in case of unplanned diversions, and company-specific factors including the availability of crew resources at various airports,” AAPA said.
The region’s carriers have been quick to react and airlines from Australia have been particularly accommodating. Virgin Australia said affected passengers could change their flights to Bali to a later date or re-route to Nadi in Fiji or Port Vila in Vanuatu without any fare difference or additional charges. Alternatively, passengers could change to another Virgin Australia domestic or international destination, where a fare difference applied.
Jetstar allowed affected passengers to change their bookings to Phuket, Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore, Nadi, Tokyo or Osaka at no additional cost. Garuda Indonesia is offering full refunds, free-of-charge rerouting to other destinations and even passenger name changes.
