Trouble in paradise for Bali travellers

Passengers trying to travel to and from Bali have taken to social media to vent their frustrations about the delays to the tourist destination.

A Jetstar plane at Bali's airport in Denpasar

An ash cloud drifting towards Bali's Denpasar airport has forced the cancellation of more flights. (AAP) Source: EPA

A volcanic ash cloud looming over Bali is causing travel chaos for airlines and headaches for stranded passengers.

Denpasar airport has been closed because of the plumes from volcano Mt Raung, as well as nearby regional airports including Lombok International Airport.

Planes from Virgin, Jetstar, Garuda and AirAsia were grounded on Friday.

Disappointed travellers have taken to social media to vent their frustrations.

"Family of four stuck in Bali - no Jetstar response by phone and this bizarre message on the web," Dawie Aker posted on Twitter.

While on their Facebook page, Charley Samson demanded Jetstar open up new flights for next week.

"If my flight is cancelled on Sunday I'm not staying here (Bali) for 3+ weeks with a baby due to no seats on existing flights!" she said.

It wasn't all negative, with Abe Gibson-Dolby posting on Virgin Australia's Facebook page that the staff in Melbourne had been a huge help and handled the difficult situation with a smile.

And Kelly Bonnett from WA wasn't too worried, posting, "All the airlines are doing the best they can it's better to be safe than sorry. Anyway I don't really see an issue with being stuck in Bali for an extra few days!!..lol."

The Insurance Council of Australia has advised travellers to confirm the compensation or alternative arrangement details of their travel insurance policies.

Both Jetstar and Virgin have said there will be additional flights between Australia and Bali as soon as conditions improve.

Mt Raung erupted on July 2. The volcano is about 150km to the west of Denpasar airport in East Java, the main airport for those heading to Bali.

Jetstar is unable to fly passengers out of Bali because it has no aircraft there.

A Virgin spokeswoman said it was hard to predict weather conditions and the airline was keeping a close eye on the situation and taking advice from the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in Darwin.

Melbourne man Brendan McCarthy was told his flight home from Bali on Friday had been cancelled until at least Monday.

Other travellers were being informed their flights could be delayed until July 23, he said.

"We've been here for two weeks, have changed accommodation three times now," Mr McCarthy told AAP.

"A fantastic holiday is now having a really bad ending."


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Source: AAP


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