PETALING JAYA: A number of flights by Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia to and from the Indonesian islands of Bali, Lombok and Labuan Bojo have been impacted by volcanic ash cloud following the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in East Flores.
In a statement on Wednesday (Nov 13), AirAsia said the continuous eruption of Mount Lewotobi within Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara has resulted in extensive volcanic ash clouds.
"(The ash clouds are) expected to affect airspace within the region. Volcanic ash poses a significant threat to safe operations of the aircraft in the vicinity of volcanic clouds.
"As a result, a number of flights operated by AirAsia Malaysia (AK), AirAsia Thailand (FD), AirAsia Indonesia (QZ), AirAsia X Malaysia (D7) to and from Bali, Lombok and Labuan Bajo have been cancelled or rescheduled since Nov 4," it said, adding that it had notified all affected guests via email and SMSes.
AirAsia, it said, is working hard to ensure that guests can resume their journeys safely on the next available flight.
"The weather event remains fluid and AirAsia guests travelling to/from the affected destinations are strongly encouraged to check their latest flight status at airasia.com/flightstatus.
"AirAsia is continuing to monitor Mount Lewotobi volcanic activity and will update its travel advisory with the resumption of normal operations," it said, urging passengers to follow the airlines on its social media accounts or contact the customer support team for the latest updates.
In a statement on its website, Malaysia Airlines said it would also be cancelling flights between Kuala Lumpur (KUL) and Denpasar International Airport (DPS) on Wednesday (Nov 13).
The affected flights are as follows: MH715 (KUL – DPS), MH714 (DPS – KUL), MH851 (KUL – DPS), MH850 (DPS – KUL, MH853 (KUL – DPS) and MH852 (DPS – KUL).
"The safety of our passengers and crew remains of utmost importance to Malaysia Airlines.
"Given the evolving situation, the airline is closely monitoring developments," it said, adding that further updates would be available on its website as well as communicated directly to affected customers.
Malaysia Airlines also reminded passengers to update their contact details via ‘My Booking’ on Malaysia Airlines’ website to ensure they receive timely updates via email and SMS, or to reach out to its Live Chat support available on the website or Global Contact Centre at 1 300 88 3000 (within Malaysia) or +603 7843 3000 (outside Malaysia).
