Story highlights
Indonesia’s Mount Sangeang volcano erupted Friday, sending clouds of ash and smoke into the sky
Volcanic ash drifted as far as Australia, forcing Darwin International Airport to cancel fights over weekend
The ash is dangerous for a number of reasons, says the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Center
CNN
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Ash from an Indonesian volcano has led to the cancellation of a number of flights in the region since Friday, with travelers heading to and from the country now advised to check with airlines to confirm the status of their flights before traveling.
Mount Sangeang is a small, uninhabited volcanic island in Indonesia’s Lesser Sunda Islands. It’s considered one of the most active in the area by scientists.
Friday’s volcanic activity shot thick plumes of ash and sulfur dioxide more than 20 kilometers into the sky, which then drifted as far as northern Australia.
Some airlines decided to ground flights in and out of Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport on Monday morning, due to worries that the ash cloud was approaching.
However, the most recent reports say the ash is dispersing.
On Saturday, all flights to and from Australia’s Darwin Airport were canceled because of the hazardous ash cloud but have since resumed.
“Virgin Australia continues to monitor Volcano Sangeang in close consultation with the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center,” said the airline in a statement on Monday.
“There may be some changes to scheduling of Denpasar services today.
“Virgin Australia will endeavor to contact all guests with affected affected bookings. We also recommend customers continue to check the flight status page on our website.”
Denpasar services to and from Darwin resumed on June 1, said Virgin.
On Monday morning, low-cost carrier Jetstar canceled two flights out of Singapore and Perth that were due to stop in Denpasar, following nine other international and domestic cancellations over the weekend.
Qantas was also forced to ground fights over the weekend due to the ash, but has since resumed operations as normal.
According to the Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program, intermittent historical eruptions have been recorded at Sangeang since 1512, most of them during in the…
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