Melbourne air travel resumes as ash clears Melbourne air travel resumes as ash clears
Source: Agencies |
June 14, 2011, Tuesday
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AIRLINES started flying a backlog of thousands of stranded passengers to and from Melbourne yesterday as ash from a Chilean volcano began to clear after forcing hundreds of cancellations.
Most flights between Australia and New Zealand, however, remained grounded due to the drifting cloud of fine grit, which can damage airplane engines. Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said the ash cloud was large enough to continue disrupting flights.
Several flights to and from Melbourne, the island state of Tasmania and New Zealand were canceled on Sunday after the ash moved across the Pacific from Chile, where it has been spewing from the Cordon Caulle volcano since June 4.
In total, more than 60,000 passengers have been stranded by the disruptions, which came amid a three-day holiday weekend in Australia.
The cloud moved away from Melbourne yesterday afternoon, though, and national carrier Qantas and its budget subsidiary Jetstar resumed flights into and out of the city. Melbourne-based Tiger Airways became the last airline to resume Melbourne operations last night, company spokeswoman Vanessa Regan said.
Qantas estimated it could take 24 to 48 hours to clear just the Melbourne backlog.
Both Qantas and Jetstar continued to ground flights from the Australian mainland to Tasmania and New Zealand, citing the danger ash poses to engines.
The Australian air force ignored the danger to fly stranded Tasmanian lawmakers to the national capital Canberra in a jet yesterday to attend parliamentary sittings, the government said in a statement.
The government holds a single seat majority in the House of Representatives so any absences could bring it down.
Air New Zealand never suspended services, instead it diverted flights and altered altitudes.
Most flights between Australia and New Zealand, however, remained grounded due to the drifting cloud of fine grit, which can damage airplane engines. Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said the ash cloud was large enough to continue disrupting flights.
Several flights to and from Melbourne, the island state of Tasmania and New Zealand were canceled on Sunday after the ash moved across the Pacific from Chile, where it has been spewing from the Cordon Caulle volcano since June 4.
In total, more than 60,000 passengers have been stranded by the disruptions, which came amid a three-day holiday weekend in Australia.
The cloud moved away from Melbourne yesterday afternoon, though, and national carrier Qantas and its budget subsidiary Jetstar resumed flights into and out of the city. Melbourne-based Tiger Airways became the last airline to resume Melbourne operations last night, company spokeswoman Vanessa Regan said.
Qantas estimated it could take 24 to 48 hours to clear just the Melbourne backlog.
Both Qantas and Jetstar continued to ground flights from the Australian mainland to Tasmania and New Zealand, citing the danger ash poses to engines.
The Australian air force ignored the danger to fly stranded Tasmanian lawmakers to the national capital Canberra in a jet yesterday to attend parliamentary sittings, the government said in a statement.
The government holds a single seat majority in the House of Representatives so any absences could bring it down.
Air New Zealand never suspended services, instead it diverted flights and altered altitudes.
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