Thousands of tourists stranded.
AirAsia announced today it has cancelled most flights today to and from Bali due to the closure of the airport on the Indonesian resort island following the eruption of the Mount Agung volcano that has spewed volcanic ash more than two kilometres into the air.
The budget airline said in a statement that the Ngurah Rai International Airport was closed today, from 3 am to 7 pm (same time as in Malaysia).
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency said the airport closure began early Friday after a pilot report detected volcanic ash as high as 23,000 feet following Mount Agung’s eruption.
AirAsia strongly encouraged all passengers to update their contact details at airasia.com as their flight status would be notified via email and SMS.
The cancelled flights included those between Kuala Lumpur and Bali, between Bangkok and Bali, between Singapore and Bali, Perth and Bali, Jakarta and Bali, Bandung and Bali, Yogyakarta and Bali, and between Solo and Bali, it said.
The eruption has triggered at least 48 flight cancellations, including those operated by Australia’s JetStar, and the disruption has affected more than 8,000 passengers.