Virgin Australia suspends flights to and from Bali due to volcanic eruption

Virgin Australia suspended operations in Bali because the volcano spewed a dangerous ash cloud 9km into the air, making flying unsafe.

Indonesia’s Lewotobi Laki-Laki mountain erupted at least three times last Saturday, causing extensive damage.

“Due to the presence of volcanic ash, it is currently unsafe to operate flights to and from Denpasar,” Virgin Australia said on Wednesday in a surprising turn of events.

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.

So far, two Qantas return flights scheduled to fly from Australia to Denpasar have been delayed.

Ten Virgin flights from Indonesia were also canceled on Wednesday, with the spokesperson citing ‘bad weather’.

A total of nine people died, prompting the evacuation of more than 15,000 people near the crater.

It is pertinent to mention that a Qantas flight will depart from Sydney International Airport at around 4:30 PM, while Virgin plans to operate a flight from Sydney at 5:45 PM.