Chile ash disruption spreads west in Australia

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SYDNEY: Travel chaos from the Chile ash cloud spread to Western Australia on Wednesday with Virgin Australia and Qantas suspending flights into and out of Perth.

But as the fallout from the eruption of the Puyehue volcano, high in the Andes, entered a fourth day, there was better news for passengers flying to and from Adelaide, with Qantas, Jetstar and Tiger resuming services.

Qantas though again cancelled all flights to New Zealand and the southern island of Tasmania, as well as the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires.

Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre forecaster Graham Weston told ABC radio that cold air from the south of Western Australia was pushing the ash towards Perth.

While Qantas has taken a conservative approach to the ash, cancelling flights, Virgin has largely chosen to fly around or under the plume with all services to New Zealand and Tasmania operating.

But it is taking no chances with Perth, saying the cloud is now lower, denser, and more dangerous.