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t least 18 international flights connecting Australia and Indonesia'€™s resort island of Bali have been canceled following fears over potential danger caused by volcanic ash from Mount Raung, East Java, state-owned navigation authority Indonesian Flight Navigation Service (AirNav Indonesia) reported Saturday.

They comprised eight flights operated by Australian low-cost airline Jetstar Airways starting from Friday and 10 flights managed by Australia'€™s second-biggest carrier Virgin Australia Airlines on Saturday, AirNav safety and standards director Wisnu Darjono said. All flights should have departed from Perth to Denpasar.

'€œAt this moment, the airport in Bali remains unexposed to the volcanic ash. ['€¦] It is the airport that should make any decisions [on flights] if later it is covered by ash,'€ Wisnu told a press briefing.

He further said that based on AirNav estimates, the volcanic ash would likely disrupt domestic routes linking Denpasar to other cities such as Jakarta, Surabaya and Yogyakarta, as well as international routes linking Bali'€™s capital to destinations like Singapore and Malaysia.

Apart from the two airlines, other major carriers, including Lion Air, Garuda Indonesia, Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines and China Airlines, continued to operate normally, according to data collected by the navigation supervising body as of Saturday.

Mt. Raung, situated on the border between Banyuwangi, Bondowoso and Jember regencies in East Java, recently began to show signs of activity after a short spell of quiet. (JP/fsu)