Airlines cancel Bali flights after volcano spews ash miles into the sky

Australia’s Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin Australia halt flights following eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki.

Several airlines have cancelled flights between Australia and Indonesia’s Bali after a nearby volcano spewed ash up to 10km (6 miles) into the sky.

Jetstar and Virgin Australia said on Wednesday that all flights to and from the Indonesian resort island’s capital Denpasar had been cancelled due to the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki.

“Due to volcanic ash caused by the Mount Lewotobi eruption in Indonesia, it is currently not safe to operate flights to and from Bali,” Jetstar said in a statement.

Qantas said a number of flights had been “disrupted” and affected customers would be “notified directly and provided with their options”.

Flight tracking website Flightradar24 also showed that AirAsia flights to the island had been cancelled.

Australia is the biggest source of international tourism for Bali, with its citizens making up about one-quarter of the 625,665 people who visited the island in July.

Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki, located about 500km (311 miles) east of Bali on the island of Flores, has erupted repeatedly since November 3.

At least nine people have been killed due to the volcanic activity, with 31 others injured and more than 11,000 evacuated, according to Indonesian authorities.

Indonesia’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation said eruptions on Friday spewed the tallest column of ash yet, with plumes stretching 10km (6 miles) into the sky.

Indonesia is susceptible to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes due to its location in the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a horseshoe-shaped zone that traces the meeting points of numerous tectonic plates.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies