Chaos and confusion reign as ash cloud drifts away, then returns to Bali airspace

It has been a tumultuous few days for holidaymakers travelling to and from Bali, with a hovering ash cloud caused by the eruption of nearby volcano Mt Raung wreaking havoc on flights.

Hundreds of travellers returned to Australia today after the ash cloud drifted away from Denpasar, allowing airlines to begin carrying their significant backlog of customers home.

However, the reprieve didn’t last long – the ash plume returned after winds blew it back over the Indonesian island, cancelling flights again and stranding more passengers.

“It’s disappointing to get this far and then not be able to go,” one frustrated Aussie told 9NEWS.

Jetstar and Virgin Australia had to cancel their flights after they briefly reopened the routes to Australia.

One pair of newlyweds even decided to change their honeymoon plans altogether - and took off for Fiji instead.

Denpasar’s Ngurah Rai Airport has now reopened, as of Saturday evening, with flights set to resume.