Travellers scrambling for flights between S’pore and Bali after Indonesia volcano erupts

SINGAPORE – Some travellers on trips to Bali were in limbo at Changi Airport, grappling with uncertain timings because several flights to the Indonesian island were cancelled on June 18 following the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki.

The volcano on the eastern tourist island of Flores

erupted on June 17

, causing the cancellation of at least two dozen flights to and from Bali on June 18.

At Changi Airport’s Terminal 4, The Straits Times spoke to travellers who were originally slated to board a 3.45pm Jetstar Asia flight. The flight was rescheduled to 8.10pm.

Mr Kome Lagny, 23, a student at a French business school in Singapore, had a 7.45pm Jetstar flight to Bali with his girlfriend that was cancelled. The carrier notified him via e-mail in the morning.

The couple were put on the delayed 3.45pm flight, but had been told that arrangements were tentative.

“We don’t understand (why) because the other companies are still flying (to Bali),” Mr Lagny said, adding that they were feeling stressed about their holiday arrangements. “We booked everything, (including) for ferries and activities.”

Australian Broc Leayr was looking forward to his surfing trip in Bali, and was planning to catch a 3.55pm Scoot flight at Terminal 1, which got cancelled.

He made his way to Terminal 4, attempting to get a ticket on Jetstar Asia’s delayed 3.45pm flight, but was unsure if he would get a seat on the 8.10pm flight.

“It’s better than not getting a flight, but I don’t know if there are any seats. A lot of people might be getting on the flight,” said Mr Leayr.

The flight eventually departed Changi at about 8.15pm.

Over at Terminal 1, several passengers waiting to check into the 3.55pm Scoot flight and a 4.50pm KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight were notified when they arrived that the flights had been cancelled. They were seen crowding around the information counter trying to change flight timings.

Romanian Madalena Strugal, 28, said Scoot’s flight cancellation was disruptive and disappointing. “We have to reschedule everything,” she said.

She faces having to book a new hotel in Singapore, change her hotel booking in Bali, and obtain a refund from Scoot.

Singaporean Angelina Phillips, 65, a freelance tutor, was planning to fly to Bali on KLM to attend a wedding on June 21.

Her other friends, who will be at the event, were able to fly into Bali in the morning on AirAsia, telling her that the skies there were “clear and blue as ever”.

Her flight has been rescheduled for the evening of June 21, but she has since requested a change to a Garuda Indonesia flight on the morning of June 19, so she can make the wedding.

She is “taking it as it goes”. “A volcano is a volcano; if it decides to blow, it blows. I’m more concerned about the people who live near there,” she said.

The disruptions saw carriers such as

Singapore Airlines and Scoot apologising for the inconvenience to affected customers

.

Despite the cancellations, some flights in Bali were able to take off and land in Singapore on June 18.

Indian national Avic Hal arrived at Changi at about 11.30am via an AirAsia flight. He said: “It was really scary. I thought the whole trip would be ruined. I was scared for my health because of the pollution.”

Asked about the situation at the airport in Bali, the 25-year-old business manager described it as “very chaotic”.

“A lot of people were stranded and they were sitting on the benches because their flights had been cancelled,” he said, adding that he would be transiting through Changi to Mumbai, India.

Mexican student Miguel Angel Gallardo also arrived in Singapore via AirAsia, but unlike Mr Avic, he and his family had to scramble to get on the plane after their 9am Scoot flight to Changi was cancelled. They were informed of the cancellation only after arriving at the airport in Denpasar in the morning, said the 21-year-old, who now lives in Texas in the US.

The family raced to get four tickets on AirAsia’s 10.40am flight, but at an additional cost of about US$1,500 (S$1,930) in total.

“It caused a lot of stress and hassle because we didn’t know if there were any other available airlines once ours got cancelled,” Mr Gallardo said.

Checks by ST show that several flights, both domestic and international, departed from Bali’s airport from 3pm.