News.com.au, From: AAP January 27, 2011
THE travel plans of hundreds of Australians have been thrown into disarray after an Indonesian volcano erupted, spewing a large cloud of ash into the air.
An Indonesian volcano eruption has thrown the travel plans of hundreds of Australians into disarray. |
The eruption of the Tengger Caldera volcano, on Java, forced the cancellation of five Jetstar flights on Thursday night.
Flights were due to take off from Sydney and Darwin for Denpasar on the popular tourist island of Bali.
Three flights from Denpasar to Perth, Sydney and Darwin were also grounded by the budget airline.
A sixth Jetstar flight from Perth to Denpasar was diverted to Darwin and is due to return to Perth.
"Safety of our passengers and crew is Jetstar's number one priority and as a result the airline has cancelled tonight's flights between Australia and Denpasar (Bali)," a Jetstar statement said.
"The airline is closely monitoring the situation and will advise passengers should there be any further impact. No other services are affected at this stage."
It remains unclear if other airlines are affected.
Calls to Virgin Blue went unanswered on Thursday night.
Qantas does not fly to Denpasar.
A Garuda Indonesia flight from Sydney to Denpasar was listed as having departed at 12.20pm (AEDT) on Thursday.
The Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre, part of the Bureau of Meteorology issued an advisory on Thursday saying Tengger Caldera had erupted, with ash extending 200 nautical miles northeast.
Thousands of Australians flying to and from Europe faced chaos last year because of volcanic eruptions in Iceland.
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