Dozens of Bali flights cancelled after volcanic eruption

The disruptions followed Tuesday’s eruption of the Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano in the east of Indonesia’s Flores island.

Indonesia’s Bali airport saw dozens of flights canceled because of a volcanic eruption nearby, stranding holidaymakers and threatening the area’s key tourism industry.

Passengers look at an electronic board displaying cancelled flights after the nearby Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano erupted, at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Tuban near Denpasar, on Indonesia's resort island of Bali on June 18, 2025.(AFP)

Singapore Airlines Ltd., Jetstar Airways Pty, AirAsia X Bhd, Batik Air and Wings Air were among airlines that halted flights citing the volcanic activity, taking the cancellations to at least 30, according to data on Bali’s international airport website Wednesday.

The disruptions followed Tuesday’s eruption of the Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano in the east of Indonesia’s Flores island. Authorities raised the volcano’s disaster alert to the highest level of four after the eruption sent an ash column of over 10 kilometers (six miles) into the sky, the country’s disaster management agency said in a statement.

Although the airport at Denpasar, the main gateway facility to the tourist hotspot of Bali, remained open and some carriers including PT Garuda Indonesia were still checking passengers in, the Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation said gray volcanic ash of a medium intensity was observed moving toward the north. Flight information data from the airport showed several arrival and departure services were still scheduled in the afternoon and evening.

A villager watches the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki as seen from Talibura village in Sikka, East Nusa Tenggara, on June 17, 2025.(AFP)

Seismic monitoring devices are still detecting tremors indicating ongoing volcanic activity, the disaster management agency said.

Indonesia’s transport ministry said in a statement that the eruption had forced the closure of three airports: Fransiskus Xaverius Seda Airport in Maumere, Soa Airport in Bajawa and Haji Hasan Aroeboesman Airport in Ende. All were expected to reopen by Thursday morning.

With over 14,000 passengers impacted, airlines and airport operators should offer options including “rescheduling, rerouting and full refunds for passengers unable to continue their journeys,” Director General of Civil Aviation Lukman Laisa said.