Malaysia Airlines & AirAsia Cancel Flights As Mount Ruang Volcano Erupts

Mount Ruang, located on the northern side of Sulawesi Island in Indonesia, began erupting on Tuesday night. With several more eruptions reported on Wednesday, prompting a mass evacuation of people in the area, some airlines have also started to cancel flights to the nearby regions. Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia have announced a bunch of cancelations, and as the situation evolves, it remains to be seen how much of an impact it will have on flight operations in the region.

Malaysia Airlines cancels flights to Sabah and Sarawak

Malaysia Airlines has announced that it will cancel several flights to/from KL International Airport (KUL) to Sabah and Sarawak on April 18. It has listed 10 flights to and from the state of Sabah and eight flights to and from the state of Sarawak.

The airline is constantly monitoring the situation and has said that it is working to accommodate passengers affected by service disruption.

AirAsia operations affected, too

The popular budget carrier in the region, AirAsia, has also canceled flights to and from nine airports, including Kota Kinabalu, Tawau, Sandakan, Labuan, Miri, Sibu, Bintulu, Kuching and Brunei. These services will remain suspended from April 18, 10:00 local time, until April 19, 08:00.

Photo: M21Perfect | Shutterstock

Passengers booked from these affected areas have been advised to check their registered email and mobile phones for cancelation notifications. Bo Lingam, Group CEO of AirAsia Aviation Group, commented,

Given the situation and anticipating troubles that passengers booked on affected flights might face, AirAsia has come up with the following two options for those looking to reschedule flights or cancel:

1. Move Flight: One-time change to any new travel date within 30 days from the original departure date on the same route without additional cost and subject to seat availability.
2. Credit Account: Retain the value of the flight booking in the guest’s AirAsia Rewards member account for future travel with AirAsia to be redeemed within 730 calendar days (2 years) from the issuance date. The travel date of the new booking can fall on any date within the published flight schedule on airasia.com

Related

How Airline Pilots Handle Volcanic Ash

One of the most dangerous hazards an aircraft can encounter.

How do volcanic eruptions affect flights?

The billowing clouds of smoke and ash that come out of an erupting volcano can be extremely dangerous to aircraft flying in the region. Apart from reducing the pilots’ visibility, the abrasive properties of the ash can harm the aircraft exterior and hamper engine performance severely.

Related

Mexico City Airport Grounds Flights Due To Volcanic Ash

Both Felipe Angeles and Mexico City airports were affected for the majority of Saturday morning.

One of the most well-known examples is British Airways flight 009, a scheduled service in 1982 on a Boeing 747-200 aircraft from London to Auckland, New Zealand, with four stops in Bombay, Kuala Lumpur, Perth, and Melbourne.

As the plane was flying from Kuala Lumpur to Perth on its third leg, it encountered volcanic ash at cruising altitude, ultimately shutting down all four engines. Thankfully, the pilots could eventually restart the engines and landed in Jakarta.

This isn’t the first time that a volcanic eruption has affected flights. The Eyjafjallajökull eruption in Iceland in 2010 forced the closure of most of European airspace for many days as a massive cloud of fine ash was blown across Europe from the North Atlantic. Millions of passengers’ plans were affected as close to 100,000 flights were canceled.

Related

13 Years Ago This Week: How The Eruption Of Eyjafjallajökull Brought European Aviation To A Standstill

A brief history of the severe air space closure that nearly affected the whole continent.

The situation with the current volcanic eruption in Indonesia is evolving. Watch this space for more updates.