Australian flights cautiously resume to Bali

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SYDNEY — Qantas’ low-cost subsidiary Jetstar has resumed flights to and from the Indonesian holiday island of Bali on Thursday; however, rival Virgin Australia will delay its services due to the ongoing ash cloud drama.

Volcanic ash can severely affect aircraft, choking jet engines and destroying bodywork.

“We’ve determined it’s safe to resume services,” Jetstar said in a statement on Thursday morning.

Virgin Australia flights to Denpasar this morning are delayed by up to two hours, the company said in a statement.

Unfavorable winds this week pushed ash from Mount Raung, 150 km west of Bali, back towards Denpasar, forcing the closure of its airport.

Aviation expert Geoff Thomas told local broadcaster Channel Seven that winds are now blowing the ash cloud away from Bali, but the threat may not be over if the volcano continues to erupt.

“It shows no sign of abating and it really depends on the wind conditions, which way the wind is going to blow this ash, and so we could have the same situation in 24 or 48 hours.”

Earlier in July, thousands of Australians were stranded in Bali for extended periods while Virgin Australia and Jetstar flights were severely disrupted due to the ash cloud from Mount Raung.

Both airlines scrambled to put on extra services when conditions finally cleared.

Both airlines said they would plan additional services to Bali on Thursday to help clear the passenger backlog.