Volcanic ash cloud over Bali sparks travel mayhem and leaves holiday plans in tatters

A family of nine who made a two-hour trek from WA’s South West to Perth Airport are among thousands of Australians caught out by a deadly volcano that has caused chaos for travellers heading to Bali.

Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki on the remote island of Flores, 1000km east of the holiday hotspot, has been spewing dangerous ash for days.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Volcanic ash cloud over Bali triggers travel chaos.

The eruptions have killed at least nine people and forced some 15,000 people close to the crater to evacuate.

It is now impacting flights, grounding several airlines including Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin.

Passengers arrived at airports on Wednesday to find their flights to Denpasar were cancelled.

A family of nine travelling for a family member’s birthday arrived at Perth Airport early on Wednesday only to be told their AirAsia flight was not departing.

They had made the two-hour journey to Perth from Bunbury.

“We came this morning at 4am — we were to check in for our flight at 7am. We waited in line ... but once the counters opened were told that we couldn’t get checked in,” one Taylor family member told 7NEWS.

“We’ve got family coming from Brisbane meeting us there today, so we’re going to be all over the shop.”

They eventually made it onto the plane, only to be told their flight would not be taking off - leaving them stranded.

All Jetstar flights to Bali have been cancelled until 12pm on Thursday, with the airline saying it was unsafe to operate in the region.

“We understand that this is a difficult situation for impacted customers. Safety is always our number one priority and we thank customers for their patience and understanding,” the airline said.

“Impacted customers will be notified directly and will be provided with a range of options.

“We continue to monitor the situation closely and are planning to add extra flights to get customers to their destination as soon as possible.”

Virgin Australia, which has one aircraft stranded on the ground in Depasar, has confirmed its planes will not take to the sky on Wednesday.

Qantas told customers its services were also facing disruptions.

“Impacted customers will be notified directly and provided with their options,” the Aussie carrier said.

“We understand that this is a frustrating situation for customers with travel planned.

“Please be assured that safety is always our number one priority and we thank you for your patience and understanding.

“We’ll continue to monitor the situation closely and will provide an update as soon as possible.”

Travellers checking into their AirAsia flights in Perth have been told the visibility is improving and flights were taking off.

Customers should check with their airline for the latest advice before heading to the airport.