Aussie airlines resume Bali flights

Good news has arrived for Bali travellers, with Virgin Australia joining Jetstar in agreeing that conditions are safe enough to recommence flights.

Passengers wait for their flight status at Bali international airport

A volcanic ash cloud is continuing to cause havoc for passengers travelling to and from Bali. (AAP)

Virgin Australia has joined Jetstar in announcing it is able to resume flights to and from Bali thanks to improved conditions around Denpasar airport.

Earlier on Saturday Indonesian officials declared Bali's Denpasar Airport safe to reopen as the cloud of ash from the eruption of Mount Raung drifted away.

Virgin sent an observation flight to Denpasar so its pilots could have visual confirmation of the conditions before recommencing operations.

With the safety thumbs-up given, Virgin said scheduled flights out of Denpasar would go ahead on Saturday evening and it plans to continue operations in and out of Bali tomorrow.

Earlier on Saturday, a Jetstar spokesman said the airline had determined it was safe to fly all scheduled services to Bali that evening, after careful assessment of the latest Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) information.

"We're pleased that flying conditions allow us to start bringing people back to Australia on return services from tomorrow morning," the spokesman said.

Both Jetstar and Virgin said additional services from Bali to Australia were being organised for Sunday.

However Virgin cautioned travellers against thinking the volcanic ash cloud disruptions were completely over.

"Please note that Mt Raung continues to erupt at this time and it is likely that operations could be disrupted again over the next few days if there are changes to wind conditions," they said in a statement, adding conditions would be monitored closely.

Mt Raung erupted on July 2, emitting plumes of ash which can choke jet engines. The volcano is about 150 kilometres west of Denpasar airport, the main airport for those heading to Bali.

Denpasar airport was closed on Friday because of the ash, along with nearby regional terminals including Lombok.

The ash grounded planes from Virgin, Jetstar, Garuda and AirAsia on Friday.


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Source: AAP


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