The scourge of semi-naked silver men

Bali is struggling to find a way of removing half-naked men who are painted silver from its major streets. 

Yes, you read that right.

It's a serious story in the latest edition of Bali Update, the valuable guide to what is happening on the resort island. 

Under the headline  "Bali Ponders Ways to Remove 'Silver Men' from Denpasar Streets",  he newsletter reports the Denpasar Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) is "overwhelmed by large hordes of young men, typically wearing only shorts, whose half-naked bodies are lathered with silver paint, who stand at busy intersections in Denpasar, Bali, holding tin canisters asking passing motorists for “donations”."

Authorities are apparently involved in a cycle of apprehending the “silver men” who are taken to a nearby location, given soap and water, and ordered to scrub off the silver paint. 

A short time later, the men have repainted their skins and are back on the street.

​Quoted by NusaBali, the head of Denpasar City Satpol PP, AA Ngurah Nendra, said his agency is "in the field apprehending violators who disturb public order. Once apprehended, these social violations should be referred to the city or provincial Social Services for guidance.”

​Inage: BaliDiscovery.com

AirAsia cancels flights from Australia

Budget airline AirAsia has announced a decision to suspend services between Melbourne and Adelaide and Denpasar in Bali.

Captain Achmad Sadikin Abdurachman, general manager of Indonesia AirAsia, said the current operating environment has made these routes "no longer viable".

“This decision has been made in response to the sustained increase in global jet fuel prices caused by the ongoing geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East," he said.

"This operating environment has led to the need to re-focus our network on routes that remain operationally viable at this time.

“AirAsia understands the suspension impacts long-made travel plans and we apologise for the inconvenience this decision has caused, and we want to thank our guests for their support and understanding.”

The airline's teams are contacting affected customers directly, detailing the options available.

Where possible, AirAsia is committed to getting guests to their destination either through date changes, or via its Kuala Lumpur hub.

The last flights operating between Melbourne to Denpasar and Adelaide to Denpasar will be on June 18. The impacted services are operated by Indonesia AirAsia.

Jetstar launches Newcastle-Bali flights

Jetstar has announced it will take off from Newcastle to Bali for the first time on October 21, 2025.

Operating three times a week using Jetstar’s A321LR fleet, the Newcastle to Bali (Denpasar) route will provide more than 70,000 seats annually between the two destinations.

With a direct flight time of just over six hours, the new service will eliminate the need for passengers from the Newcastle region to take connecting flights, making it easier than ever for people to experience Bali’s beaches, cultural heritage, and hospitality

This milestone marks Newcastle’s return to international travel, the first ongoing international route since 2020, and reinforces Jetstar’s continued growth.

The announcement of the new route also comes just one month after Jetstar launched direct flights from the Gold Coast to Bali, commencing August 1.

Bali remains Jetstar’s most popular international destination, with around 100 flights taking off to Bali each week.

Jetstar Group CEO Steph Tully said the new international route is an exciting milestone as Jetstar continues to significantly expand its network.

"We're thrilled to be the airline to launch Newcastle’s first international flights in more than five years with our new direct service from Newcastle to Bali,” she said.

“Jetstar is committed to making travel more accessible, and people living in and around Newcastle will no longer need to drive to other airports to fly overseas, which means more time and money can go toward their holiday.

"We want to thank Newcastle Airport and the NSW Government for their support in making travel more accessible”

Airport chaos from Heathrow to Bali

From London to Denpasar, flights around the world are being delayed and rescheduled.

London Heathrow Airport (above) will be closed all day Friday as emergency services deal with a significant fire in the vicinity, local media reported.

All flights in and out have been cancelled or diverted after a fire at a nearby substation caused a major power outage.

In Bali, meanwhile, flights have been cancelled due to a volcano erupting.

"Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport and should contact their airline for further information. We apologise for the inconvenience," Heathrow Airport said on Facebook.

At least 120 flights bound for Heathrow have been diverted, flight tracking website FlightRadar24 recorded.

Flights were to land at nearby airports, including Gatwick.

Meanwhile, travellers have been stranded after flights to and from Bali were cancelled and delayed due to volcanic ash caused by the eruption of Mount Lewotobi on the south-eastern part of the remote Indonesian island of Flores.

The volcano was sending rocks, lava and ash about nine kilometres into the sky, Indonesia's Centre for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation said.

Visitors and tourists were ordered to maintain an eight-kilometre distance from the volcano.

There is also a threat of rain-induced lava floods in rivers that originate at the mountain's peak. 

As of Friday morning "several international flights had been cancelled, six of them Jetstar flights bound to Australia and one Air Asia flight to Kuala Lumpur,” Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport spokesperson, Andadina Dyah, said in a statement.

Several other flights - domestic and international and including to Thailand, Singapore and Australia - had been delayed.