Flying conditions improve to allow Virgin, Jetstar flights from Bali

Better flying conditions in the vicinity of Bali Airport has allowed Virgin Australia and Jetstar to operate some daylight flights from Indonesia back to Australia.

Jetstar has scheduled 11 recovery flights on Thursday, which will operate in daylight hours, while Virgin has planned three flights from Bali to Australia.

“Flying conditions are forecast to remain favourable, with the latest satellite imagery from around Bali indicating we’ll be able to fly daytime services today (Thursday),” Jetstar said in a statement.

“We are contacting customers booked on these services directly and all flights are now fully booked.

“We know this has been a frustrating time for everyone and we hope get all of our customers home as soon as possible.”

The two carriers have hundreds, if not thousands of passengers stranded in Bali after the ash cloud from the Mount Rinjani volcano over the past week has resulted in scores of cancelled flights.

Virgin said night flights from Bali to Australia were under review, while Thursday morning’s flights from Australia to Bali have been cancelled.

Instead, Virgin is ferrying aircraft to Bali to pick up stranded passengers.

“We would like to thank all of our guests for their patience and assure you that we continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure you reach your destination as soon as possible,” Virgin said in a statement.

“The safety of our guests and crew is our highest priority and we will keep you updated as new information becomes available.”