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Passengers start to return to Australia amid Bali volcanic ash chaos

Xinhua, July 14, 2015 Adjust font size:

More then 6,000 stranded Australian travelers will soon return from Indonesian tourist island Bali if flying conditions remain clear on Tuesday, airlines sources said.

Qantas' low cost subsidiary Jetstar and Virgin Australia have resumed their Bali services after a cloud of volcanic ash twice forced the closure of Denpasar airport over the past week.

Jetstar ran 19 services in and out of Bali on Monday, with local media reporting approximately 2,000 passengers arriving in Australia late on Tuesday morning.

Virgin Australia has already brought home 350 passengers on two flights that departed on Monday. That number will have climbed to about 2,000 by early on Wednesday.

Both airlines are planning a total of 36 flights in and out of Bali on Tuesday, operating scheduled and extra services to bring home the backlog of passengers.

Qantas, which owns Jetstar, is helping service the smaller airline's domestic routes to free up Jetstar planes for the Bali run.

Jetstar and Virgin are closely monitoring flying conditions, amid fears the wind could blow the ash cloud from the eruption of Mount Raung back over Denpasar airport.

Mount Ruang erupted on July 2 - 150 km west of Denpasar airport - emitting plumes of ash that can choke jet engines. Endi