Not all Australian airlines are ready to fly again following Monday’s volcanic eruption in Indonesia.
Qantas and Jetstar planes are in the air following Monday’s volcanic eruption in Indonesia but Virgin is taking a more cautious approach.
An aviation code red was issued as the Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano erupted about 1pm AEST on Monday, according to MAGMA Indonesia, a geological hazards monitoring service.
The volcano is 1000km north of Broome and on Indonesia’s southernmost province of East Nusa Tenggara.
Flights to Bali were cancelled after a fresh eruption from the deadly Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano.
On Tuesday morning, a Qantas flight from Melbourne to Denpasar was delayed an hour but took off about 8am AEST. A Qantas Sydney to Denpasar flight was also pushed back about 80 minutes and took off at 8.22am.
Jetstar has delayed a Melbourne to Bali flight by four hours to 10.35am on Tuesday, while the budget airline’s Sydney to Denpasar and Brisbane to Denpasar morning flights took off about 30 minutes late about 7am and then 8am AEST, respectively, on Tuesday.
Virgin Australia has been more hesitant than Qantas and Jetstar to take off for Bali on Tuesday following a volcanic eruption. Picture: NewsWire / Tertius Pickard
“Our meteorologists and operations teams are closely monitoring the movement of volcanic ash from the latest eruption of Mount Lewotobi in Indonesia,” a Qantas spokesperson said.
“Safety is always our top priority, and we will contact customers directly if their flight is disrupted. We thank customers for their patience and understanding.”
Virgin Australia is taking a more cautious approach with the volcanic ash.
Flights out of Melbourne and Brisbane on Tuesday have been pushed back to the afternoon.
“Our team of expert meteorologists is closely monitoring conditions and ash cloud activity following the eruption of Mount Lewotobi yesterday,” a Virgin spokesperson said.
Lewotobi Laki-Laki erupted in November 2024, killing nine people.
Monday’s eruption sent ash about 18km into the sky, halting air traffic; there are yet to be any reported injuries.
Flights between Australia and Bali were cancelled in November when the same volcano erupted. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard
MAGMA Indonesia reported that the volcanic ash cloud had reached nearly 20km in height but may be even higher than what can be observed.
“Ash cloud moving from north, northeast to northwest. Volcanic ash is observed to be gray to dark. The intensity of volcanic ash is observed to be thick,” MAGMA’s warning read.
“Eruption and ash emission is continuing. Eruption recorded on seismogram with maximum amplitude 47.3mm.”
Three services from Virgin Australia were cancelled on Monday, with guests set to be placed on new flights when it is safe to do so.
“Some Virgin Australia Bali services have been cancelled following the eruption of Mount Lewotobi earlier today” a Virgin Australia spokesperson said in a statement at the time.
“We regret the impact of this on guests’ travel plans and encourage guests travelling to or from Bali to closely monitor their flight status via the Virgin Australia website or app.”
Jetstar also cancelled flights on Monday.