Major Australian airlines have resumed operation of certain flights to Bali as the large ash cloud from the eruption of nearby Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki has begun to clear. Previously, this has caused the cancelation of all flights to and from the island.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki has been erupting intermittently for nearly two weeks since November 3, 2024. Ash clouds affected flight routes in the region, creating unsafe travel conditions.
On November 14, 2024, the volcanic ash reached up to 3,000 meters above the crater, according to the European Commission Emergency Response Coordination Centre. The alert status of the volcano remains at Level Four, indicating ongoing eruptive activity.
A day before, Qantas, Jetstar, AirAsia and Virgin Australia had all halted flights to Bali for safety reasons, without announcing when they would resume. However, the next day all carriers announced the resumption of certain flights.
Qantas and Jetstar declared that “conditions have improved”, allowing both airlines to restart flights between Australia and Denpasar, Bali.
“We will continue to monitor the changing conditions and volcanic activity and work on plans to operate more recovery flights using aircraft from across the Qantas Group so that we can get customers on their way as quickly as possible,” the Jetstar announcement stated.
On November 15, 2024, Virgin Australia announced the scheduling of additional recovery flights to “help guests travel to and from Bali following necessary flight cancellations earlier this week”. The carrier resumed all scheduled flights in and out of Denpasar, Bali. Starting from November 16, 2024, the carrier will restart operation of six flights, linking major Australian cities including Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to Denpasar.