PAL cancels Darwin flight after eruption

FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—A Philippine Airlines flight to Darwin, Australia, was cancelled Saturday night after the airport there was shut down due to the ash cloud coming from Indonesia’s Mt. Sangeang Api, which erupted on Friday.

Cancelled was PAL flight PR-221 to Darwin, Northern Territory, which was supposed to leave at 10 p.m. and arrive at 4 a.m. Darwin time.  The second leg of the flight to Brisbane International Airport was also cancelled.

The Smartraveller website run by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the ash plume had drifted over parts of northern Australia and had “the potential to cause disruption to commercial aviation in Indonesia and Australia in the coming days.”

Air travellers were advised to consult their airlines and the Australian meteorology bureau’s website for flight disruption information.

Australian media quoted Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss as saying that depending on wind and weather conditions, the ash might also affect flights to and from other airports such as Brisbane.

Mt. Sangeang Api, located on Sangeang island in Indonesia’s Lesser Sunda Islands, erupted at around 4 p.m. on Friday, local time.

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