Virgin Australia halted operations in Bali as the volcano spewed dangerous ash cloud 9 KM in the air which made flying unsafe.
Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki erupted at least three times last Saturday and wreaked havoc with the after- effects.
"Due to the presence of volcanic ash, it is currently unsafe to operate flights to and from Denpasar," Virgin Australia released a statement on Wednesday.
The airline further revealed, “As many as 15 flights between Australian cities and Bali have been affected.”
The groundings affected Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia flights on Tuesday and Wednesday, leaving passengers stranded for hours.
Two Qantas return flights have been delayed so far, scheduled to fly from Australia to Denpasar.
Also, ten Virgin flights in an out of Indonesia on Wednesday have been cancelled with the spokesperson citing ‘adverse weather.’
A total of nine people have been killed, prompting an evacuation of more than 15000 people close to the crater.
It is pertinent to mention that a Qantas flight is due to depart Sydney International airport around 4:30 pm while Virgin plans to operate a flight out of Sydney at 5:45 pm.
