Airlines cancelled flights to and from the Indonesian resort island of Bali on Wednesday, leaving travellers stranded after a nearby volcano catapulted an ash tower miles into the sky. At least 16 international routes were affected after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on Flores island spewed a nine-kilometre (5.6-mile) tower a day earlier, the general manager of Bali's international airport said in a statement.
Flights from Singapore, Hong Kong, Qatar, India, Australia, Malaysia, China's Pudong and South Korea's Incheon were all either delayed or grounded, Ahmad Syaugi Shahab said Wednesday. "I'm sleeping here rather than going back to Java. It is far," said animal clinic worker Samsudin, a 52-year-old from Indonesia's main island who was transiting in Bali to Malaysia.
"I'm waiting here, until tomorrow," he added, saying he bought a new flight after his AirAsia ticket was refunded. Australia's Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia all grounded flights, while Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, India's IndiGo and Singapore's Scoot also listed flights as cancelled on Wednesday, an AFP journalist at Bali's airport said. "Volcanic ash poses a significant threat to safe operations of the aircraft in the vicinity of volcanic clouds," said AirAsia as it announced several cancellations.
Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific also listed its flights as cancelled, rescheduling routes to and from Bali until Thursday. Multiple eruptions from the 1,703-metre (5,587-foot) twin-peaked volcano in recent weeks have ki.