Hedland residents stuck after Bali flight cancellations

Direct flights between Port Hedland and Bali have resumed after Virgin Airlines was forced to cancel its flights for two weeks, due to a volcanic ash cloud which left many Pilbara travellers stranded on the holiday island.

An estimated 300 travellers were affected by the airline’s four flight cancellations on July 4 and 11.

Among those were Hedland resident Bliss Malcolm, who was stuck in Bali for an extra four days, and Caroline Maillard, who spent four days sleeping at Perth International Airport waiting for a connecting flight to Bali.

Ms Malcolm said although the situation was unavoidable, the ordeal had put her off travelling direct to Bali from Port Hedland again.

She said her and her partner’s flights to and from Bali were redirected via Perth, forcing the couple to pay for two nights accommodation in the capital city.

“Virgin told me if they were going to change my flights to Perth, if we wanted to do that, I would have to agree to pay for my own accommodation, ” Ms Malcolm said. “I didn’t have much of a choice.” After arriving in Bali two days later than planned, Ms Malcolm said getting back to Australia was also a challenge and that communication with Virgin Australia was difficult.

“I would check the flight status in the morning and every morning it said it was cancelled, ” she said.

Direct flights from Bali to Port Hedland on July 11 were cancelled to allow as many flights as possible to return to Perth.

Qantas also chipped in to help its budget airline Jetstar by redirecting flights from Perth to Port Hedland on July 15, and sending extra aircraft to Bali. Passengers flying between Port Hedland and Perth or return were re-accommodated were re-accommodated on other flights that day.

Meanwhile, Ms Maillard and a group of friends spent four nights at Perth International Airport waiting for a Virgin Australia flight to Bali, eventually arriving on the island on July 14.

“We just wanted to take a month’s holiday before we head back to Hedland for work, ” she said.

“We thought to try to book another flight (with another airline) but it was really expensive for us so we are forced to stay here and wait if there is a flight before Friday.”

Virgin Australia waived the fees for passengers’ redirected flights.