Thousands of Australians stranded by volcano set to return home from Bali

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/14/bali-volcano-virgin-jetstar-fly-home-australia-stranded

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More than 6,000 stranded travellers will be back in Australia from Bali within a day if flying conditions remain clear.

Jetstar and Virgin Australia have resumed services to the Indonesian resort island after a cloud of volcanic ash from Mount Raung twice forced the closure of Denpasar airport over the past week.

Assuming flying conditions remain clear, Jetstar will operate its usual eight scheduled services to and from Bali, but will also run 10 extra flights.

Qantas, which owns Jetstar, is helping the smaller airline free up its aircraft for the Bali run. Qantas planes will be used to service some of Jetstar’s domestic routes to help the airline get its passengers back from Indonesia quicker. Jetstar has put some Boeing 787 Dreamliners on the route, with a carrying capacity of 335 passengers.

Virgin Australia will also operate 18 flights into and out of Bali on Tuesday, including eight additional services.

Mount Raung erupted on 2 July, emitting plumes of ash that can choke jet engines.

Denpasar airport was initially closed on Friday along with nearby regional terminals. It reopened on Saturday allowing some Australia-bound flights to get out but the ash cloud returned on Sunday, forcing the airport to shut down again. It opened again late on Sunday.