At least five international flights between Australia and Bali were cancelled and several others delayed after Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki erupted for the second time in as many months, sending a column of ash up to 18 kilometers into the sky.
The eruption on Monday prompted Indonesia’s volcanology agency to raise its highest-level alert for the volcano, located on the eastern island of Flores, citing a dangerous combination of hot gas clouds, rocks, and lava flows traveling up to 5 kilometers from the crater.
Volcano’s most powerful eruption since 2024
The state-run Geological Agency said this eruption produced the tallest column of ash since a major blast in November 2024 that killed nine people. Lava was seen filling the crater and triggering volcanic earthquakes, according to drone footage analyzed by the MAGMA geohazard monitoring agency.
“The activity level at the volcano is very high, marked by explosive eruptions and continuous tremors,” said geology agency head Muhammad Wafid. He added that the danger zone around the mountain may be expanded, and residents have been urged to stay at least 6 kilometers away and wear masks to guard against falling ash.
There were no immediate reports of casualties following Monday’s eruption.
Flight disruptions affect travelers to and from Bali
The ash cloud disrupted air travel across the region. Virgin Australia confirmed that several of its Bali-bound flights were cancelled and warned of possible delays on Tuesday.
“Some Virgin Australia Bali services have been cancelled following the eruption,” a spokesperson said. “The safety of our guests and crew is our highest priority… We regret the impact this has had on travel plans.”
Qantas delayed its QF43 flight from Sydney and QF45 from Melbourne to Denpasar.
“Our meteorologists and operations teams are closely monitoring the movement of volcanic ash,” a Qantas Group spokesperson said.
Jetstar also cancelled two flights from Perth to Bali — JQ106 and JQ116 — citing the ash cloud in a statement posted to its travel alerts website. “Impacted customers have been notified directly and provided a range of options,” the airline said.
Despite the flight disruptions, a representative of airport operator InJourney Airports told AFP that Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali remained operational.
Previous eruption triggered mass cancellations
This latest activity follows a similar eruption on 18 June, when the volcano spewed ash up to 10.000 meters into the air, prompting flight cancellations across multiple airlines including Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin, Singapore Airlines, Air India, and Air New Zealand. In response, MAGMA expanded the exclusion zone around the volcano to 7 kilometers.
