Aus flights to Bali grounded as Mt Agung erupts again
International flights in and out of Bali have been grounded after Mount Agung erupted for the second time in a week sending travel plans into chaos.
Denpasar's Ngurah Rai International Airport was operating as normal on Saturday night but just two hours following the eruption, several major airlines diverted or cancelled flights to the island.
Jetstar was first to move, diverting three flights heading to Bali as well as cancelling six flights due to depart from the island.
"Following an eruption of the Mount Agung volcano in Bali, Indonesia, it is not currently safe to operate flights around Denpasar Airport," the airline said in a statement.
"As a result we have cancelled flights to and from Bali this evening. Three flights that were enroute to Bali have returned to Australia."
Qantas and Virgin soon followed suit and cancelled flights to and from Australia while Dutch airline KLM also halted flights.
According to Indonesia's Disaster Mitigation Agency, the ash column from Mount Agung rose 1500m following an eruption at about 5:30pm on Saturday.
They also moved to remind visitors that only a small part of the island had been affected following the eruption.
"Tourism in Bali is still safe, except in the danger (zone) around Mount Agung," it said in a statement, referring to an area that extends to a radius of up to 7.5 km from the summit.
The announcement comes as business slumped in areas around the volcano, including nearby tourist hub Kuta, since September when Agung's volcanic tremors began to increase.
Despite a significantly larger ash cloud than Tuesday's eruption, the agency called for calm among the local community, from which around 25,000 people have been evacuated from the slopes of Agung to hundreds of refuge shelters.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where tectonic plates collide, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.
