Bali – Flights cancelled – ash cloud

The major airport for Bali Denpasar, Ngurah Rai International has been closed due to the eruption of Mount Agung, and the resulting volcanic ash cloud.

Ash clouds and jet engines do not mix. If they do, falling out of the sky is often the result – so don’t get mad at the airline for cancelling flights.

Many flights between Australia and Bali, and Bali and Australia have been cancelled – that affects Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia – those links will take you to the particular airlines Bali alert.

Where to find out more

No one is quite sure how long the delays will be. You can monitor the appropriate airlines’ pages below:

Virgin Australia their flight status page – you can plug in the flight number and the date to find out what is happening
Qantas – their flight status page
Jetstar – their flight status page – you will also need city to and from details to search

My Advice

Chillax. There is nothing you can do. You will be one of the thousands affected – so don’t get angry – just be polite.

From Australia – check with your airline or travel agent before you leave for the airport (use the internet if possible, so phone lines are left free)

From Bali – check with your airline or travel agent before you leave for the airport.

Avoid phoning your airline, as that just ties up phone lines un-necessarily. Check in regularly with your airline via social media or through their website. Only phone when you can’t find the information you need. If you have a good travel agent, leave the sorting out of flights and accommodation to them. In my experience, a good travel agent is at their best in these circumstances

Find a hotel for the night with the possibility of extension. Seems like you might have to wait, and even though you might want to, you can’t control a volcano cloud, so give in to delays and enjoy yourself.

But above all, keep calm.

To help you with that, here is a shot of the lotus pool at the Four Seasons Sayan in Ubud.