Adsl Plans In Perth Australia

Ash cloud threatens Perth flights | Top Stories | BigPond News

Airlines are monitoring a second volcanic plume heading towards Australia, with Virgin announcing it will suspend flights in and out of Perth this afternoon from 1pm.

Qantas, Jetstar and Tiger Airways on Wednesday are still avoiding Tasmania and New Zealand, but have resumed services to Adelaide, with ash from Chile's Puyehue volcano continuing to cause chaos.

Virgin Australia has been operating normal scheduled services since Monday, with their planes flying under and around ash plumes.

Matt Wardell from Airservices Australia said a second volcanic plume was heading for Perth and it was expected airlines would on Wednesday make a decision on whether to continue flights there.

'There is the potential for that getting to Perth later on today and if that does occur there could be the potential for some new delays on flights into and out of Perth,' Mr Wardell told AAP.

'Certainly in the next 12 to 24 hours we would think if it (the ash) is going to get up that far that is the time frame we are looking at.'

If the new ash cloud reaches Perth, it could then drift across to eastern or northern Australia, or head out to sea depending on winds, he said.

Simon Westaway from Jetstar Airways said about 46,000 of the airline's customers had been affected by the crisis.

'We are very keen to re-introduce the remainder of our services upon the appropriate checkpoints, but there is no update as to when that will occur,' he said.

The volcano began erupting on June 4, with ash drifting east across Africa before reaching Australia.

Air New Zealand is continuing to operate, with planes flying at a lower altitude.

Spirit of Tasmania ferry services from Victoria to Tasmania have sold out until Saturday even after they opened up cinema seats, adding an extra 110 spots each day.

After her Melbourne-Hobart Jetstar flight was cancelled on Tuesday, Deb Oliver was told the earliest available flight would be on June 22.

Another 15 family and friends had already been stranded in Melbourne, with some lucky enough to get spots on the ferry on Friday.

'They're even trying to get a private charter to fly home, that's how desperate they are,' Ms Oliver said.

Virgin's Melbourne-Hobart flights have sold out until Monday.

Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO Robert Wallace said businesses were starting to feel the effects of three days of cancelled flights.

'The main concern has been businesses with staff who have been unable to return to work,' he said.

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