Flights to Bali may resume on Sunday afternoon if the volcanic ash cloud continues to retreat, Virgin Australia says.

While Sunday morning flights to Bali remain cancelled, the airline has released a statement saying the ash cloud appears to be dissipating despite Mt Rinjani’s continuing eruptions.

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“Should the ash cloud continue to retract overnight, it may be possible for Virgin Australia to operate a number of flights from Bali to Australia later tomorrow, to enable guests to return to Australia,” Virgin Australia said on Saturday night.

Virgin and Jetstar were forced to abandon planned flights to and from Bali on Saturday after winds pushed a volcanic ash cloud too close to the airport.

Jetstar had planned to operate during daylight hours on Saturday, including two recovery flights, but by mid-morning announced it was not safe to fly.

Jetstar said it would operate limited daytime flights to and from Bali on Sunday, but most would be out of Denpasar.

As a result, the airline has been forced to change or cancel several flights.

Stranded Brisbanite says ‘anger is growing’

Kim Stephens, pictured climbing a volcano in Bali, is stranded on the island due to an ash cloud.

Brisbane resident Kim Stephens landed in Bali for a holiday on October 22 and was meant to return home on Thursday.

“It’s been impossible to get through to the Indonesian call centre to rebook because the lines are jammed constantly,” she told the ABC.

“I had to email my mum my reference number and she rebooked my flight for Monday. Not sure at this stage if that one is even going to go ahead.”

She said there was frustration among Virgin travellers about the lack of detailed information being provided.

“There has just been blanket statements that flights are cancelled and no explanation as to if alternative arrangements are being sought, for example, diverting flights via Perth or Singapore.”

While Ms Stephens said she was “not overly concerned to be stranded in Bali”, many do not feel the same way.

“There’s plenty of anger growing with people, especially those who were on the first flights cancelled, because they have also subsequently had rebooked flights cancelled,” she said.

“It’s getting quite hard to find accommodation because with each cancelled flight there are whole new planeloads of people looking for somewhere to stay.

“Hotel operators have bookings from people coming over they can’t yet cancel because everything is going day-to-day.”

Ms Stephens said the ash cloud itself was not negatively impacting her time in Bali.

“The sky is definitely hazy but it’s not stopping the sun. I rode a bike to the beach yesterday and got sunburnt,” she said.