Bali Volcano Eruption Causes Flight Cancellations

An eruption at Bali’s Mount Agung volcano caused the cancellation of several flights on Thursday as a column of ash and smoke reached over a km in height.

The holiday island’s Ngurah Rai Airport was operating normally but a number of airlines cancelled flights as a precautionary measure.

AirAsia cancelled 22 flights to and from Bali and “postponed” another five.

Australian airline Jetstar cancelled 10 flights saying that “it is currently not safe to operate flights to or from Denpasar Airport. As a result, several flights tonight have been cancelled.”

Virgin Australia and Qantas also cancelled Bali flights.

Airport authorities warned airlines to remain cautious although the airport was operating as normal.

Mount Agung has been rumbling for months, with eruptions in November 2017 causing the evacuation of thousands of Balinese from 22 villages around the volcano. Over 400 flights were cancelled as a result of that series of eruptions.