Budget airline Tigerair has permanently cancelled its flights between Australia and Bali because of approval "issues" with Indonesian authorities, throwing the plans of hundreds of holidaymakers into disarray.
The company's decision came after Indonesian authorities said it would have to switch to a new operating model - one the budget carrier, a unit of Virgin Australia, said would take six months to put in place.
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Tigerair permanently cancels Bali flights
CEO Rob Sharp announces Tigerair Australia will stop flights to Bali after an impasse with Indonesia over charter flight regulations.
"Providing a reliable, low-cost service is critical for Tigerair Australia and our customers, and therefore our only option is to withdraw from flying to Bali altogether," Tigerair Australia chief executive Rob Sharp said.
"We understand the impact that this situation will have on passengers booked to travel to and from Bali with Tigerair, and we sincerely apologise to all affected passengers."
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At least six services were due to fly to Bali on Friday, the airline said.
Last month Indonesia revoked Tigerair's permission to fly, saying it did not meet charter flight regulations. Virgin Australia had previously operated the flights but shifted them to Tigerair in an attempt to restore its international division to profitability.
Tigerair had been expected to restart flights to the island on Friday, but on Thursday evening it said final approvals from Indonesia had not been received.
Refunds
Customers who had booked tickets to Bali would receive a full refund, the airline said. Passengers due to travel from Bali to Australia on Friday would be taken on other carriers, including Virgin Australia,
Some customers received a text message last night, alerting them to the cancellations. Fairfax understands some received the texts at 11.15, after Tiger's customer call centre had closed for the night.
Other passengers would be contacted "as soon as possible", the airline said.
A statement on the airline's website said its call centre was "experiencing a higher than usual volume of calls".
All refunds would be automatically processed within the next two to four days and sent to customers, the airline said.
Tigerair usually carries hundreds of passengers to Bali each day from Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. The airline has been flying to Bali since March 2016.
Last month, Tigerair said it had received "a key approval from the Indonesian government" to operate scheduled flights to and from Bali using its Airbus A320 aircraft, and that it planned to resume its normal Bali flying schedule on February 3, "subject to final procedural approvals being secured".
On Thursday night, the airline said all affected customers had been "proactively notified" about the cancellations, but angry customers flooded the airline's Facebook page complaining that they had not been given adequate warning.
"Drove 500km to Adelaide after being told its a go ahead. Text at midnight to cancel. Pathetic," passenger Steve Hunter wrote.
Another passenger, Morgan Davies, said: "You would have [known] by close of business today whether you could fly or not and yet still chose to wait til you told your customers. You have lost my business for life."
Tigerair's domestic flights have not been affected and will operate as normal.
Virgin Australia made the decision to give up on the Bali route for its international unit after posting a 37 per cent fall in second-quarter underlying earnings before taxes on Friday, as tough conditions persisted in the domestic Australian market.
Australia's second biggest airline reported an underlying profit before tax of $45.9 million for the quarter ended December 30, compared with an underlying profit before tax of $73 million a year earlier.
Virgin Australia's shares traded 1.4 per cent lower at 21.2¢ at lunchtime on Friday, while Qantas shares were down 2.7 per cent at $3.21.
With Reuters