Bali flights resume following Mt Agung eruption

Bali, Indonesia - April 29, 2018:It is scenery in Ubud,Bali in Indonesia. we can be seen huge active volcano ‘Mt.Agung’ in the distance. Drone is flying in front.

Flights to and from Bali began to resume over the weekend after volcanic ash from Mount Agung caused hundreds of flights to be cancelled, affecting tens of thousands of passengers.

Just to make things a bit trickier, the cancellations coincided with the eve of school holidays.

giphy (1)

We assume this gif is an accurate representation of what many holidaymakers encountered upon arriving at the airport.

“Volcanic ash from Mount Agung this morning is weaker in intensity, up to 300 metres. Flares can be seen from its crater (on Saturday) morning,” National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a statement on Saturday, according to News Corp.

He said all airports in Bali, Lombok island, Jember and Banyuwangi in East Java are operating normally.

75,000 passengers internationally were affected by the airport closures and nearly 450 flights were cancelled, the ABC has reported.

Qantas said in a statement that it planned to resume flights operating between Australia and Denpasar on Saturday evening, and Jetstar report they were back in business over the weekend too.

However, News Corp reports that some airlines are warning that services are still subject to change if conditions deteriorate and a danger zone within a four-kilometre radius of the volcano’s crater is still being maintained.

Since the volcano began erupting last year, most travel insurance policies for Bali exclude any volcano-related incidents, as they are now considered a known risk.

As per the ABC, a consumer watchdog is advising passengers to check the terms and conditions of their ticket in the event of cancellations or suspensions as well as reviewing their travel insurance policy.

“While most airlines will endeavour to re-schedule their passengers during these events, they may not necessarily offer refunds for circumstances outside of their control or if the passenger decides to travel on another airline,” Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard told the ABC. 

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