Flights cancelled between Australia and Bali due to volcanic ash cloud

Australian travellers were left stranded on Wednesday after three Australian airlines delayed or cancelled flights to and from holiday hotspot Bali, after volcanic eruptions* created a dangerous ash cloud*.

On Wednesday morning, Jetstar, Qantas, Virgin Australia and AirAsia all grounded flights in both directions between Bali and Australia due to the hazardous 5.5km-high ash cloud.

At the time of writing, Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki*, which first began erupting last week, was still spewing ash into the sky.

A Qantas flight that was scheduled to depart Sydney for Denpasar* for 7am AEDT was axed.

Jetstar announced that all its flights to and from Denpasar Airport were cancelled until at least Wednesday 2pm AEDT.

“Impacted customers have been notified directly and provided a range of options, including rebooking their travel for no charge or cancelling their bookings and obtaining a voucher to the value of their untravelled flights,” Jetstar said in a statement.

“We continue to monitor the situation closely and will provide an update on flights scheduled to operate after 1400 AEDT as soon as possible.”

One Australian passenger at Sydney Airport, who had booked a surfing trip to Bali, said his flight turned around mid-air and returned to Australia.

“We got halfway across Aussie and had to turn around midway,” Hugo Herron told Seven’s Sunrise. “The captain said over the loudspeaker there has been a volcanic eruption.”

Mr Herron said he would not wait at the airport in the hope of getting a flight later on Wednesday.

“We got home last night around midnight and had to be back at the airport at 4am,” he said.

“As soon as we got here, they said you have to wait until later this arvo, around 3.30pm; they (still don’t) know if they’re flying out.”

Mr Herron said he felt for the people of Indonesia, after nine lives were lost on Sunday due to the eruption.

It was estimated that more than 16,000 villagers living closest to the crater had been evacuated*.

An AirAsia plane that left Perth just before 7pm on Tuesday night was one of the last planes to leave Australia bound for Bali before multiple airlines paused services in and out.

A number of Qantas flights left on time on Tuesday, but a flight from Sydney on Tuesday evening was cancelled.

Virgin Australia flights cancelled four flights on Tuesday, two inbound and two outbound.

Those travellers who had experienced a flight cancellation or delay were advised to liaise* directly with their airline.

HOW LONG WILL THE ERUPTION LAST?
University of Sydney school of geoscience Professor Patrice Rey said smoke from the eruption could remain an issue for weeks, potentially disrupting holiday and schoolies trips for thousands of travellers.

“It’s not impossible for people to be stuck there for a few weeks,” he said.

“Plumes can extend for kilometres, at 10 to 15km in elevation, and any planes travelling in the area would be impacted. If the volcanic activity is ongoing, the plume is still being fed by the volcano and could stay there for much longer.”

Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki is part of a chain of about 80 volcanoes.

While it’s possible that toxic gases and ash could fall over surrounding cities and towns, it’s likely wind will push the smoke clouds out to sea.

“That shouldn’t cause massive problems for locals,” Prof Rey said.

“Problems occur when the eruption happens very fast and in the form of thick clouds and gases, mixed with very hot volcanic ash, but that’s not the kind of eruption that we’re looking at here.”

POLL

GLOSSARY

• volcanic eruption: the sudden release of molten rock, hot rock fragments, and hot gases through a volcano, which is a vent in the planet’s crust
• ash cloud: formed from tiny ash particles and gases blasted from an erupting volcano
• Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki: one of 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, Laki-Laki is the more active male twin in a pair of peaks, the other being Mt Lewotobi Perempuan (female)
• Denpasar: capital city of the Bali province, Indonesia
• evacuated: moved people from a dangerous place to somewhere safe
• liaise: work together, communicate, make contact with

EXTRA READING

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Boom time: hot facts about volcanoes

QUICK QUIZ

1. Which airlines grounded flights between Australia and Bali?
2. How big was the ash cloud at the time of writing?
3. What is the name of the volcanic mountain that has erupted?
4. When did the volcano start erupting?
5. How many villagers living closest to the crater have been evacuated?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Should we stay away?
Do you think that tourists should be allowed to travel to places that have serious dangers like active volcanoes? Write a list of very convincing reasons and examples that support your opinion.

Time: allow at least 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social Capability

2. Extension
Imagine that you are the editor of Kids News. You think that the factual news description of the volcanic eruptions and the ash cloud is boring. You think that kids would be really interested if the story had at least two much more dramatic and detailed paragraphs on the eruptions and the cloud. Write the new paragraphs. Use your research skills to find facts and details to include.

Time: allow at least 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science

VCOP ACTIVITY
Imaginative dialogue
Imagine you were on the plane that was midway to Bali from Australia then turned around.

Create a conversation between two characters – you may need or want to include yourself as one of the characters. Don’t forget to try to use facts and details from the article to help make your dialogue as realistic as possible.

Go through your writing and highlight any punctuation you have used in green. Make sure you carefully check the punctuation used for the dialogue and ensure you have opened and closed the speaking in the correct places.