Lewotobi Volcano Eruption Disrupts International Flights at Bali Airport

According to Ahmad Syaugi Shahab, General Manager of I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, the situation has become a collective concern among all airport stakeholders.

“We are closely monitoring the developments and coordinating with all relevant parties to ensure the safety of flight operations,” he said on Friday evening.

He detailed that the 16 cancelled international flights included eight departures and eight arrivals. Affected routes included Darwin, Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Kuala Lumpur, and Shanghai. Each route saw one departure and one arrival cancelled, except for Melbourne, which had two flights cancelled in both directions.

“All flights to and from Australia were operated by Jetstar, while the Kuala Lumpur route was served by AirAsia X and the Shanghai route by Juneyao Airlines,” Syaugi added.

In response to the cancellations, airlines have informed affected passengers via email and offered several options, including refunds, rescheduling, or re-routing.

Syaugi urged passengers to contact their respective airlines for more information regarding their travel plans. Despite the volcanic eruption, PT Angkasa Pura Indonesia confirmed that operations at Ngurah Rai Airport remain normal.

“We have conducted aerodrome observation through paper tests, and the results came back negative—no volcanic ash has been detected in the airport area,” he explained, assuring that the airspace around Ngurah Rai remains unaffected.

As a precaution, the airport has activated its Airport Disaster Management Plan (ADMP), which includes emergency response protocols and the establishment of a joint coordination post at the Airport Operation Control Centre (AOCC) to monitor the situation alongside all stakeholders.

PT Angkasa Pura Indonesia and airport community agencies continue to update the situation regularly and hope that conditions will normalize soon.

“For further information regarding assistance for affected passengers, please contact our Call Center at 172. We also advise passengers to check their flight status regularly with their respective airlines to receive the latest updates,” Syaugi concluded. *ris