Singapore flights also hit by Bali airport closure

SINGAPORE — Flights between Singapore and Bali were delayed today (July 12), after Indonesian authorities shut down Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport for part of the day due to the Mount Raung eruption, less than a day after reopening it. 

Singapore Airlines rescheduled four of its flights today. Two flights from Singapore to Bali that were meant to take off in the morning left at 5pm and 5.30pm respectively, while two flights departing Bali for Singapore were delayed till after 8pm, hours after its scheduled departure. 

Four of Tigerair’s flights were also affected today, as well as two AirAsia flights, according to the airlines’ websites. The flights were re-timed when the airport reopened. “Please be advised that several flights from and to Bali are expected to be delayed due to airport congestion,” cautioned AirAsia.

Jetstar cancelled nine flights — among them one flying from Singapore to Bali and Perth — and did not resume them even after the airport reopened. It also delayed some of the flights flying between Bali and Australia.

“The latest information from the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) shows that volcanic ash remains in the vicinity of Denpasar Airport due to unfavourable and unpredictable winds in the region,” the airline said on its website. “Jetstar will only resume flights after the airport re-opens and when our specialist operations team and management pilots consider it is safe to do so...While we regret the frustration these cancellations will cause, the safety of our customers and crew is always our first priority.”

Mount Raung on the main island of Java has been erupting for weeks, and last week volcanic ash carried by the wind forced the closure of five airports in Indonesia — including on those on Bali and nearby Lombok.