Australians stranded for nearly four days in Bali are finally heading home after the ash cloud from Mount Agung cleared, allowing Denpasar Airport to reopen.
The first flights arrived in Perth on Thursday afternoon, bringing home a relieved and out of pocket Phil Wickham
Mr Wickham caught the second AirAsia flight back to Perth, landing about 12.30pm - and four days later than he had originally planned.
"I've got three little kids and I love them and I needed to get home to them," the Mandurah man told reporters at Perth airport.
He spent several "cold, wet" nights sleeping at the airport.
"But it also gets really hot and steamy. It's not pleasant," he said.
The delay cost Mr Wickham about $2500 including three cancelled flights and he is unsure if his travel insurer will be able to cover it all.
A total of 18 flights are expected to return to Australia on Thursday.
Qantas and Jetstar plan 16 flights - including 10 scheduled departures and six "relief" flights - carrying 3800 passengers.
The first relief flight to arrive back in Australia was Jetstar's JQ7006 which touched down in Perth about 1.25pm local time.
On board was 17-year-old Alistair, who said he was "absolutely buzzed" to be home.
He was greeted by relieved mum Kathleen.
"It was pretty full on," he said.
He claimed things had become more expensive as locals took advantage of the situation.
"I'm just happy to be home," he said, before wrapping his mum in a hug.
Further Jetstar and Qantas flights will land in Melbourne and Sydney on Thursday evening.
Two Virgin Australia relief flights are expected into Brisbane later at night, with one flight scheduled for Sydney on Friday about 6:05pm.
It's not yet known when Australian airlines will resume flying passengers into Bali.
They're worried conditions could change quickly, forcing cancellations again.
Denpasar Airport reopened on Wednesday as wind blew ash away, giving airlines a window to get tourists out, as authorities stepped up efforts to get thousands of local villagers to move to safety.
The airport's general manager has said if the wind changes direction, the airport could be closed again at short notice.
Virgin said in a statement that passengers scheduled to fly to Bali on Friday were able to receive a full travel credit, change their booking or fly to a different destination.
