New Delhi: IndiGo and Air India cancelled their flights to Bali on Wednesday following the Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki volcano eruption. This volcanic activity has led to ash clouds forming as high as 10 km (32,808 ft) over the region, creating potential hazards for air travel.
The Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki, located in the remote East Nusa Tenggara province, erupted earlier this month, prompting airlines to assess flight safety conditions. In a statement on social media platform X, IndiGo conveyed, “Due to a recent volcanic eruption in Bali, flights to/from the region have been cancelled, as ash clouds may impact air travel.”
IndiGo, which operates a daily service from Bengaluru to Bali, has been one of the most affected by the ash clouds. Air India also confirmed the cancellation of its daily flights from Delhi to the Indonesian island, previously operated by Vistara before its merger with Air India.
Several international airlines also cancelled flights to and from Indonesia’s resort island of Bali on Wednesday.
Jetstar and Qantas QAN.AX said they had stopped flights to Bali on Wednesday for safety reasons because of volcanic ash, while plane tracking website Flightradar24 showed flights to the island by AirAsia AIRX.KL and Virgin were also cancelled.
Singapore Airlines SIAL.SI said a flight from Bali to Singapore was cancelled on Wednesday due to the eruption.
All flights to and from the island of Lombok in the West Nusa Tenggara province, another popular destination for tourists were also cancelled, a local airport spokesperson was quoted as saying by Indonesia’s state news agency Antara.
The first eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki on November 3 in the East Nusa Tenggara province, about 800 km (497 miles)from Bali, killed at least nine people. It has since erupted repeatedly, including multiple times on Tuesday.
From November 4-12, 80 flights in Bali were cancelled, including from Singapore, Hong Kong, and several Australian cities, said Ahmad Syaugi Shahab, general manager of Bali’s Ngurah Rai airport.
Notably, Indonesia has close to 130 active volcanoes and sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an area of high seismic activity atop various tectonic plates.