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Volcanic ash forces cancellation of Bali flights

Volcanic ash billows from the crater of Mount Rinjani in Indonesia.

Volcanic ash billows from the crater of Mount Rinjani in Indonesia. Photo: AP

Volcanic ash is again forcing the cancellation of flights to and from Bali’s Denpasar Airport.

Both Tigerair Australia and Jetstar have confirmed the cancellation of a number of flights.

Tigerair said a scheduled Tuesday night flight from Perth to Bali and a Wednesday morning flight from Bali to Melbourne would not be operating because of volcanic activity from Indonesia’s Mount Rinjani.

It said advice from its team of meteorologists and the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre was that conditions were not suitable for flights into and out of Denpasar Airport.

It said an update would be provided at 10:30am (AEST) on Wednesday, and passengers on all of its services to Bali, aside from the two affected flights, should check in for their flights as normal unless notified by the airline.

Jetstar said it had cancelled three flights from Australia to Bali and four flights from Bali to Australia, and was keeping its passengers informed via SMS and email.

The airline said it would reassess the situation on Wednesday and make a decision after consulting its pilots and meteorologists.

“We will always put safety before schedule and will only commence flying when it is safe to do so,” Jetstar said in a statement.

Perth Airport also issued a statement which said it was monitoring the movement of volcanic ash over Indonesia.

It said decisions about flights were made by the individual airlines and operators.

“Safety is and always will be the highest priority … passengers are encouraged to contact their airline for information about their flight status prior to coming to Perth airport,” it said.

According to the Perth Airport’s website, an AirAsia flight from Perth to Denpasar departed as scheduled on Tuesday night.

The airline has been contacted for comment.

Mount Rinjani forced the cancellation of flights from multiple airlines last month.

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