Virgin Australia delays Bali flights after second volcanic eruption
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Version 0 of 1. Virgin Australia has delayed flights to Bali after another major volcanic eruption at Mount Raung, but Jetstar has said it will go ahead with its Wednesday flights. Virgin has pushed back some departure times while it assesses flying conditions in consultation with the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre. However, the chief executive of Jetstar, David Hall, says an assessment shows it is safe to fly despite the second eruption at Mount Raung this month, after the last one generated an ash cloud that closed Denpasar airport, stranding thousands. “Our flights that are scheduled to depart from Australia this morning, we’ve given the green light to those that it is safe to travel,” he said, but added experts would continue to closely monitor the situation. “Fingers crossed we would get in excess of probably 3,000 back today,” he told the Seven Network. Hall said the airline had redoubled its efforts to keep passengers informed, after many returned travellers complained about poor communication. “We’ve got a dozen people on the ground now in Denpasar helping the customers at the airport,” he said. “We’ve got people working around the clock in our operating centre and customer recovery, getting information through to customers. We’ve doubled our team on social media.” Since Virgin Australia and Jetstar resumed flights late on Tuesday, thousands of Australians have made it back, but many more remain stuck. Virgin says it will keep passengers advised about its Wednesday flight schedule via its website and social media channels. “Safety remains our highest priority,” it said. Qantas was also planning two special relief flights to supplement additional services by its Jetstar subsidiary. |