CANBERRA, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of Australian holidaymakers have on Sunday been reassured that flights in and out of popular holiday destination of Indonesia's Bali will not be affected by the imminent eruption of Gunung Agung, or Mount Agung volcano.
Thousands of locals have been evacuated from villages surrounding the volcano, prompting fears of flight cancelations. But in a number of press releases published on Sunday, Australia's major airlines have said that as the situation currently stands, flights in and out of Bali will not be affected.
There are up to 22 flights leaving Bali for Australian cities every day, ferrying thousands of visitors, but budget airline Jetstar has said that all of its flights were operating as scheduled - but could change if conditions worsen.
"Our pilots and meteorologists will continue to monitor the latest information from the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre," a statement released on Sunday said.
Meanwhile Virgin Australia has said that some flights and routes might suffer delays as a result of the possible eruption, but admitted they were likely to be precautionary delays. Some Bali-bound flights are to stop over in the northern Australian city of Darwin in case of emergency.
"This ensures that if an eruption occurs while the aircraft is en route, we will be able to get guests back to their originating port safely and quickly," Virgin said.
The timing of the impending eruption is notable as Australian schools are currently in a holiday period - meaning many families are vacationing in the tropical tourism hot-spot.
Mount Agung, located north of the tourist town of Kuta, last erupted in 1963, killing 1,100 people.
