Airline services resume as ash cloud clears

Following two days of disruption to airline schedules caused by a volcanic ash cloud emanating from Chile, timetables are beginning to resume in Australia as the atmosphere begins to clear. Virgin and Qantas flights have already departed from Adelaide, and services are due to resume out of Canberra and Melbourne. Flights are also due to take off from Hobart, Newcastle and Sydney.

Thousand of passengers had their travel plans upset last week when ash spread across the skies of New Zealand and southern Australia. The cloud then moved on and flights resumed. However, weather patterns meant that after circumnavigating the globe, the ash was back.

On its return, experts advised airlines that it was too low for flights to operate safely. The fear was that particles could enter jet engines causing them to fail. According to Andrew Tupper of the Ash Advisory Centre, by the end of Wednesday, the ash cloud would only be affecting airspace over Hobart. The ash is then due to head for New Zealand.

Tupper explained that although the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcanic range in Chile was still erupting, it is not doing so with the same intensity as a week ago. He added that it was quite unusual for a cloud of ash to circle the globe twice, meaning that the outlook is positive.

Although some flights to New Zealand may have to be cancelled, everything should be back to normal by the end of the week, according to Peter Gibson from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.

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