Just when it seemed as though the threat of Bali’s Mount Agung had passed, the volcano has erupted, placing travellers on high alert once again.
After months of bubbling under the surface, Bali’s Mt Agung volcano erupted at around 5 pm yesterday, sending up 800 metres of ash and rock.
The initial ash cloud blew towards the east of the island and away from Ngurah Rai International Airport, allowing the gateway to continue operations.
In online statements, Jetstar and Virgin Australia said they’re closely monitoring the situation and for the moment, all flights are taking off and touching down as scheduled.
Image: CNN
“Should any volcanic ash make its way into in Bali airspace tomorrow, however, this could result in flight disruptions.”
Jetstar Statement
“We will provide regular updates on our Bali flights status on Twitter at @JetstarAirways.”
“Virgin Australia flights to Bali are continuing to operate as scheduled, however we continue to monitor the Mt Agung situation closely.”
Virgin Australia Spokesperson
“Guests should check out travel alerts page at virg.in/travelalerts for the latest updates.”
Indonesia’s tourism leaders are also remaining calm about the situation and are telling travellers not to panic.
I Dewa Made Mertayasa, who’s in charge of monitoring Mt Agung, described the eruption as a “phreatic explosion” and non-threatening to those outside the 7.5km evacuation zone established around the mountain two months ago.
“Phreatic means that the water in the crater surface collected because of heavy rain recently combined with ascending magma,” he explained.
“The dangers are for [the people] living within a 6km to 7.5km radius from the crater.”
“That evacuation zone should remain clear because the ash clouds are heading in that direction.”
I Dewa Made Mertayasa
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) continues to advise Australians to “exercise a high degree of caution” in Indonesia overall and to avoid travelling into the 7.5km exclusion zone.
READ: What happened to that Balinese volcano erupting?
READ: Indonesia’s leaders assure that Bali is still safe for tourism