People would normally be afraid for their lives if they are stuck in a place where an active volcano is continuously spewing ash and preventing them from going back home. For some Aussie's, however, Mt. Rinjani's tantrums this past week have given them an extended holiday which they are definitely making the most of.
The week-long ordeal has already proliferated the #StuckinBali hashtag in social media and, while some use it to complain about their situation and get updates on return flights, others used it to document their pleasant experience being stuck in a tropical paradise.
Still #StuckInBali with this crazy dude! After the most epic week with @activeescapes1 Bali won't let me leave! pic.twitter.com/j4VwMPqY0n
— Steph Magiros (@stephmagiros) November 10, 2015
ABC Bali correspondent office day 7 and it's not looking great for my rebooked flight home tomorrow #stuckinbali pic.twitter.com/65Ug55wWCI — Kirsti Melville (@kirstimelville) November 10, 2015
Watching the sunset after being told our Sunday flight is cancelled. I've been stranded in worse places #stuckinbali pic.twitter.com/7xxz9e44K4
— ruby (@rubydoyle_) November 13, 2015
Day 5 #stuckinbali @nalubowls (at Nalu bowls, Single fin) https://t.co/mUM11KXDNN — Kathleen Kalaw (@megkalaw) November 14, 2015
Airlines Virgin Australia and Jetstar have been taking people home with recovery flights, however, all flights had to be cancelled the whole weekend of Nov. 14 and 15 due to another bout of ash cloud emission. Virgin Australia has already stated that its priority is bringing Aussies home from Bali rather than risk more people going into the holiday destination.
"As Mt Rinjani continues to erupt and flying conditions remain unpredictable in the days to come, our priority is to bring guests home from Bali, rather than fly more guests in who could potentially be delayed in returning home due to ongoing eruptions," Virgin Australia said in a statement.
Likewise, Jetstar also made an announcement of the airlines' flight activities in their website. "All flights on Sunday, 15 November from Australia to Bali have been cancelled... The movement of the ash cloud is highly unpredictable and flights are subject to change based on assessment of safety to fly and local approvals from airport authorities," it announced.
Mt. Rinjani erupted on Oct. 25 and, although the explosion was small in scale, debris and ash cloud have been blowing towards Denpasar International Airport, causing many flights to get delayed and cancelled.
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