Flight disruptions linked to recent volcanic activity in Indonesia have left some travellers facing unexpected delays and difficult decisions.
Dina Indrasafitri, an Indonesian member of the diaspora and a student at Western Sydney University, had planned to spend her semester break in Jakarta.
She departed Sydney on Sunday and arrived in Singapore at around 9pm local time. Dina was scheduled to continue her journey to Jakarta on Monday afternoon. However, at around 6am, she received notification that her flight had been cancelled.
According to Dina, affected passengers were given the option of rebooking their flights or travelling to an alternative destination in Indonesia, with change fees waived. However, seats on subsequent flights to Jakarta were extremely limited.
With time constraints and ongoing uncertainty around flight availability, Dina is now considering cancelling her trip and returning to Sydney. She said flights to Jakarta the following day with the same airline were already fully booked, while travelling via another Indonesian city would add further delays and complications to her journey.
Dina also questioned the lack of information provided to passengers before departure. Although volcanic activity affecting flights to Indonesia had been reported for several days, she said she had received no warning in Sydney that her flight to Jakarta could be at risk of cancellation.
Listen to the full podcast.
