Vulkan Lewotobi Laki-Laki: painted Bali flights-ash clouds threaten air traffic!

Vulkan Lewotobi Laki-Laki: painted Bali flights-ash clouds threaten air traffic!

A dramatic volcanic eruption on the Indonesian island of Flores has put international air traffic into turmoil! The Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano, which has been active since the end of 2023, hurls ashes and glowing rock and ensures massive flight cancellations. From Tuesday, several airlines, including Jetstar and Virgin Australia, have painted flights from the popular holiday island of Bali to Australia. Security concerns due to the enormous amounts of ash above the volcano force the airlines to take drastic measures.

"Due to the volcanic ash that the Lewotobi volcano has been expelled in Indonesia, flight operations from and from Bali are currently not safe," said Jetstar. The airline observes the Situation closely and plans to resume the flights as soon as the situation in the sky improves. Virgin Australia has also exposed connections, and a Qantas machine had to reverse halfway-a dramatic picture for travelers who wanted to fly into the sun!

catastrophic eruptions and evacuations

The situation is alarming: In the most difficult eruption ten days ago, an ash column of almost ten kilometers was measured! Tragically, at least nine people died when their houses collapsed under the ruins. Thousands were housed in evacuation centers, while the authorities set up a restricted zone with a radius of seven kilometers and asked the population to wear masks. The entire region is covered by a thick layer of ash and local air traffic is severely impaired. Initially, two smaller airports had to close to Flores, followed by the international airport in Labuan Bajo.

Indonesia, the world's largest island state, is located in the geologically active Pacific fire ring. The island of Flores, located east of Bali, attracts tourists with their breathtaking landscape and the fantastic diving areas. But the 1,584 meter high Lewotobi Laki-Laki and its twin volcano Lewotobi Perempuan, who is 1,703 meters high, show how unpredictable nature can be. The peaks of the two volcanoes are only two kilometers apart and are now in the focus of the world public!