Bali Flight Cancellations were enforced as a volcano in eastern Indonesia erupted on June 18, 2025, hurling a massive 10km-high ash tower into the sky. The Indonesian Volcano Eruption led to the grounding of dozens of flights to and from Bali, causing significant Bali Travel Disruptions for thousands of passengers, as reported by aviation authorities and local media.
The volcanology agency said in a statement that Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a 1,584-meter twin-peaked volcano on the tourist island of Flores, east of Bali, erupted at 5:35 p.m. local time on Tuesday.
In reaction to the eruption, officials in Indonesia increased the country’s disaster alert level to the highest of four tiers.
“The height of the eruption column was observed at approximately 10,000 metres above the summit. The ash column was observed to be grey with thick intensity,” it said, after the alert level was raised.
Reports of casualties or damage were not immediately available.
Muhammad Wafid, the head of the geology agency, advised locals and visitors to refrain from engaging in any activities within seven kilometers or less of the volcano’s crater.
Due to the eruption, Virgin Australia confirmed that some flights between Brisbane and Melbourne and Bali were canceled on Wednesday.
Qantas stated that it was keeping a “close eye” on the situation with flights scheduled to depart later this afternoon, while Jetstar also canceled four flights from Australia into Bali on Wednesday morning.
On Wednesday, Air New Zealand announced that it would “continue to closely monitor” the cloud of volcanic ash and canceled two flights between Bali and Aukland.
“Safety is always our first priority and we will only operate into and out of Denpasar when it is safe to fly,”
the air line stated.
According to Bali’s international airport website, flights were also canceled “due to volcano” by Air India, Singapore’s TigerAir, and China’s Juneyao Airlines.
On Flores, a number of domestic AirAsia flights headed for Labuan Bajo were also canceled.
Bali Airport’s Mixed Operations
A Bali airport customer service agent, speaking anonymously to AFP on June 18, 2025, explained, “Ngurah Rai is still operating normally, but Bali Flight Cancellations are affecting some schedules due to a volcano. It depends on the route and airline.” The Volcanic Ash Impact from the eastern Indonesian eruption has disrupted specific flights, creating uncertainty in Ngurah Rai Operations, as per Bali Airport Updates.
If there is a lot of rain, Wafid cautioned that communities near rivers may be at risk of dangerous lahar floods, which are a kind of mud or debris flow of volcanic materials.
In order to protect themselves from volcanic ash, he also advised locals to wear face masks.
In a statement released late Tuesday, Abdul Muhari, spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), stated that ash rain was observed in multiple villages outside the exclusion zone and that at least one village had to be evacuated, though he did not specify how many.
Residents near the volcano were urged “to evacuate to safe locations” by the spokesperson because tremors were still being felt, indicating that volcanic activity was still occurring.
