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Tag: volcano

  • AirAsia, Garuda cancel flights to and from Yogyakarta due to Merapi eruption

    AirAsia, Garuda cancel flights to and from Yogyakarta due to Merapi eruption

    AirAsia and Garuda Indonesia have cancelled a total of at least 26  flights to and from Yogyakarta after the eruption of Mount Merapi forced the ancient Javanese city’s airport to close.

    The cancelled AirAsia flights are AK 346, AK 347, AK 348 and AK 349 (Yogyakarta – Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur – Yogyakarta), QZ 659 (Singapore – Yogyakarta), QZ 7557, QZ 7550, QZ 7551, QZ 7552 and QZ 7553 (Yogyakarta – Jakarta, Jakarta – Yogyakarta), XT 8448 and XT 8449 (Bali – Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta – Bali).

    Passengers of cancelled flights will be given the option of rescheduling, rerouting their journey or a refund or credit. AirAsia also advised passengers to check AirAsia’s website and social media accounts for further updates.

    Meanwhile Garuda, Indonesia’s national carrier, cancelled 14 flights.

    Yogyakarta’s Adisutjipto International Airport, 520km south-east of Jakarta, was closed at about 10:42am on Friday local time, and reopened at 2:17pm, state air-navigation operator AirNav Indonesia said in a statement Friday.

    Mount Merapi’s eruptions are minor, caused by accumulation of volcanic gases, and shouldn’t lead to further outbursts, the Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation at the nation’s Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, said in a statement, adding its status is “normal.”

    Other airlines that canceled flights include those operated by the Lion Group.

    It said it would inform passengers of affected flights through email and text message.

    “AirAsia strongly encourages all guests to update their contact details at airasia.com to ensure that they are notified of any updates to their flights,” AirAsia said in a statement on Friday.

    Indonesia is located on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and geological fault lines surrounding the Pacific Basin. According to the Volcanological Survey of Indonesia, the archipelago has about 120 active volcanoes. It has had two of the world’s biggest volcanic eruptions in the past two centuries: Mount Tambora in 1815 and Krakatau in 1883.

    Last year, Mount Agung on the neighbouring island of Bali erupted and forced the airport at the popular holiday destination to close several times. Yogyakarta is also a prominent tourist spot for Buddhist pilgrims.

    The volcanic ash and gases spewed can be dangerous to planes passing through the plume. In 1982, all four engines on a British Airways Boeing Co. 747 stalled when the plane encountered the debris from Mount Galunggung in Indonesia.

    The plane dropped for almost four miles before the pilot was able to restart three engines and make an emergency landing in Jakarta.

  • AirAsia cancels 32 Bali and Lombok flights

    AirAsia cancels 32 Bali and Lombok flights

    Low-cost carrier AirAsia has cancelled 32 flights and rescheduled two others from and to Bali and Lombok following the volcanic activity at Mount Agung in Bali.

    In a statement, AirAsia said affected passengers would be notified of their flight status and the options available to them via their registered e-mail addresses.

    It said passengers whose flights were cancelled could change to a new travel time on the same route within 30 days from the original flight without additional costs and subject to seat availability. They can also retain the value of their fare in a credit account for future travel.

    “The online credit account has to be redeemed within 90 days from the date of issuance,” it said.

    The airline said passengers are advised to visit www.airasia.com and AirAsia’s social media pages and also to check their flight status through the “Manage My Booking” feature on AirAsia’s website.

    AirAsia said it was in contact with the autho­rities and would continually conduct risk assessments to ensure the safety of its operations.

    “AirAsia will provide updates on the latest developments,” it said, advising passen­gers requiring assistance to contact the airline’s customer support team.

  • Indonesia orders new Bali airport closure due to volcano

    Indonesia orders new Bali airport closure due to volcano

    Indonesian authorities ordered a fresh shutdown of the airport on the resort island of Bali today, sparking flight cancellations and travel misery for tourists during peak holiday season.

    Transport ministry spokesman J A Barata said Ngurah Rai airport would be closed for several hours from midday (0930 IST) due to ash drifting from Mount Raung, on Indonesia’s main Java island.

    Australian carriers Jetstar and Virgin Australia announced they were canceling flights in and out of Bali today, a popular holiday destination that attracts millions of tourists from around the world every year.

    The closure was the fourth shutdown of Bali airport in recent weeks due to the volcano, which has been spewing ash and lava high into the air since late June.

    The disruption has come during peak holiday season, leaving thousands of tourists stranded.

    The most serious period was between July 9 and 12, when two closures forced almost 900 flights to be canceled or delayed and created a backlog that took days to clear.

    Indonesian government vulcanologist Gede Suantika told AFP that the volcano was today shooting out ash clouds that were larger than those it had recently been emitting.

    “The volcano normally shoots out ash 700 to 800 metres but it’s around 1,000 metres today,” he said.

    Air traffic is regularly disrupted by volcanic eruptions in Indonesia, which sits on a belt of seismic activity running around the basin of the Pacific Ocean and is home to the highest number of active volcanoes in the world, around 130.

  • Garuda cancels all flights to Denpasar due to volcanic ash

    Garuda cancels all flights to Denpasar due to volcanic ash

    Garuda Indonesia Airlines on Sunday cancelled all flights to Balis Nurah Rai International Airport following its closure again at 9.30 a.m local time on Sunday.

    The flights cancellation was aimed to avoid aviation hazards and to ensure passenger safety due to the volcanic ash being spewed by Mount Raung in East Java Province.

    “Due to the rising eruption of Mount Raung in Bondowoso, East Java, this volcano was closed again on Sunday, that makes Garuda temporarily canceled all flights to Denpasar,” Executive Vice President Corporate Communications PT Garuda Indonesia M Ikhsan Rosan said in his press statement received here on Sunday.

    The Garuda flights were cancelled after a notice was issued to airmen (Notam) “No.A1423/15 which was issued by the Briefing Office of Ministry of Transportation.

    In addition, Garuda also cancelled its flights from Balis Nurah Rai International Airport pending further announcement which will be issued by the Briefing Office.

    Rosan further said that with regard to the mount eruption, Garuda issued policy such as the exemptions of cancellation fee, administration fees, re-booking or reroute fee, refund fee, and other ticket change fees for passengers scheduled to fly to Denpasar on the day.

    Garuda also called flights for the passengers who will fly to and from Denpasar to immediately make changes to ticket reservation through the Call Center Garuda Indonesia (24 hours) at numbers 021-2351 9999 and 0804 1 807 807.

    Apart from that Garuda will continue to update the information on the current situation through www.garuda-indonesia.com and TwitterIndonesiaGaruda,

    On Friday (July 10) Garuda cancelled 112 flights to avoid aviation hazards and to ensure passenger safety due to volcanic ash being spewed by the Mount Raung.