New Delhi, June 18 (IANS) As dozens of flights to and from Indonesia’s resort island of Bali were cancelled on Wednesday after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano erupted, Air India flight AI2145 from Delhi to Bali was advised to return to Delhi in the interest of passenger safety, the airline said.

The eruption occurred on the eastern island of Flores, where the 1,584-metre volcano forced authorities to raise its alert status to the highest level on Indonesia’s four-tier scale.

As the Air India spokesperson said, the AI2145 flight safely landed back in Delhi, and all passengers disembarked.

“Inconvenience caused to passengers is sincerely regretted, and every effort has been made to minimise it by providing hotel accommodation to the affected passengers. Full refunds on cancellation or complimentary rescheduling have also been offered to them if opted,” said the spokesperson.

According to Bali airport operator Angkasa Pura Indonesia, “Due to volcano activity of Lewatobi Laki-Laki in East Nusa Tenggara, several flights at I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport are cancelled”.

Several domestic flights operated by AirAsia were also cancelled. Jetstar said that flights to and from Bali had been cancelled, but some afternoon departures were delayed to later in the evening as the ash cloud was expected to clear.

Bali’s international airport web portal also showed cancellations from Air New Zealand and Singapore’s Tigerair and China’s Juneyao Airlines.

Volcanic ash began falling on villages surrounding the volcano late on Tuesday and prompted the evacuation of at least one settlement, Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency said.

According to forecasts, the volcanic ash cloud is expected to clear by later tonight.

Lewotobi is a twin volcano located in the southeastern part of the island of Flores, Indonesia. It has two peaks: the Lewotobi Laki-laki and Lewotobi Perempuan stratovolcanoes. The more active Lewotobi Laki-laki is about 2.1 km northwest of the taller Lewotobi Perempuan.

–IANS

na/dpb