‘Stress and hassle': Travellers scramble for flights to Singapore after cancellations due to Indonesia volcano eruption

The Star

9 hours ago

Travellers waiting near the KLM counter at Changi Airport Terminal 1 on June 18 after their flight to Bali's capital Denpasar was cancelled.- ST
SINGAPORE: Indian national Avic Hal was travelling in Bali the past week, when his trip - quite literally - almost went up in smoke.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a volcano on the eastern tourist island of Flores, Indonesia, erupted on June 17, causing volcanic ash to rain down on several villages surrounding the volcano, forcing the evacuation of at least one village.
The eruption also caused at least two dozen flight cancellations to and from the Indonesian resort island of Bali on Wednesday (June 18).
'It was really scary, I thought the whole trip would be ruined. I was scared for my health because of the pollution,' Avic told The Straits Times at Changi Airport following his arrival at 11.30am via an AirAsia flight on June 18.
Asked about the situation at the airport in Bali, the 25-year-old business manager described the situation as 'very chaotic'.
'A lot of people were stranded and they were sitting on the benches because their flights were cancelled,' he said, adding that he will be transiting through Changi before flying back 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 Singapore was cancelled.
They were informed of the cancellation only after arriving at the airport in Denpasar in the morning, said the 21-year-old from Texas.
The family then raced to get four tickets on AirAsia's 10.40am flight, but at an additional cost of about US$1,500 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,' Gallardo said.
Despite the situation, some travellers told ST that they were unaware of the eruption, while others who knew about it said they were unconcerned as it occurred some distance away from Bali. According to travel website Travel Weekly Asia, Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki is about 800km east of Bali.
French national Lucye Bouclyer arrived at Bali airport early on June 18, as her flight to Singapore was not affected by the eruption.
She said she is not afraid of volcanic eruptions - 'It's just smoke, sometimes flights are cancelled, but they're not too dangerous,' she told ST at Changi Airport.
The unemployed 23-year-old had spent two months in Indonesia, and will be spending three days in Singapore before leaving for Malaysia.
Quinton Posthumus, a 29-year-old from Pretoria, South Africa, said that he had received alerts about the impending eruption two weeks prior, but decided to proceed with his trip as planned.
He and his wife spent five days in Ubud, Bali, and said they 'didn't hear a thing about it from locals our whole trip'.
They did not experience any disruptions, and did not notice any announcements regarding the eruption when boarding their SIA flight to Singapore.
However, they remained worried for their two friends who will still be in Bali for the next three days.
An Indonesian mining consultant living in Singapore who wanted to be known only as A.W. told ST that she had arrived at Bali's airport at 8am for her flight home, which was scheduled for 1pm.
The 35-year-old observed that several flights there after 12pm had been cancelled, and was surprised to find that hers was still scheduled for departure. Amid the chaos, several friends had also checked in on her, asking if she was still flying home to Singapore.
'As Indonesians, we know there are a lot of volcano eruptions in Indonesia, but we trust that the government takes all necessary precautions,' she said. - The Straits Times/ANN