Dubai: A number of UAE residents are scrambling to make last-minute changes to their holiday plans for the coming long weekend, as the volcanic eruptions in Bali, Indonesia forced the cancellation of flights and closure of a major airport in the resort island.
Flights from the UAE to Bali have been cancelled by Emirates since Monday, as authorities raised the security alert level in the tourist destination to maximum, following the series of eruptions of Mount Agung.
Travel operators in the UAE have no choice but to cancel a number of bookings secured by UAE residents who had earlier planned on visiting Bali during the UAE National Day long weekend.
At one travel agency in Dubai, more than ten people were forced to cancel their booked packages to Bali and scout for alternative holiday destinations.
The UAE government has declared a three-day holiday for the private sector from Thursday, November 30, until Saturday, December 2, and many UAE residents have taken this as an opportunity to take short trips abroad.
Bali is one of the top ten preferred holiday weekend destinations by travellers from the UAE.
According to Premjit Bangara, general manager for travel at Sharaf Travel Services, their agency had to cancel the packages for 12 of their customers due to the security situation in Bali.
“They were all booked to travel from Thursday for a minimum of four nights,” said Premjit Bangara, general manager for travel Sharaf Travel Services.
“They are all UAE residents [and are] currently working on reworking their travel plans with our assistance and Thailand seems to be the preferred option as they generally allow most nationals to obtain a visa on arrival,” Bangara told Gulf News.
A number of airlines around the world started cancelling their flights since Saturday evening when Indonesia’s Mount Agung erupted. Three eruptions were reported again early Sunday, sending dark ash cloud into the atmosphere.
Emirates Airline confirmed on Tuesday that it has suspended operations to and from Bali/Despansar "until further notice."
Although it does not fly direct to Bali as it offers codeshare services from Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Jakarta, Etihad Airways also suspended temporarily the uplift of guests with onward bookings to Bali.
Overall, the impact of the situation in Bali on UAE travellers is not that big. “However, if it continues to be serious, there will certainly be a huge impact on tourism for Bali as they generally receive a large number of tourists over late November and December,” said Bangara.
“These tourists, predominantly from Europe and Australia, travel to Bali for Christmas and New Year.”
