Flight chaos in Australia as ash cloud returns

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SYDNEY: Airline passengers faced more frustration Tuesday as the Chilean ash cloud returned to Australia, forcing the cancellation of flights to Adelaide, Canberra and Sydney.

The cloud, created by the eruption of the Puyehue volcano high in the Andes more than two weeks ago, has looped the globe and made its way back Down Under to wreak havoc again.

Qantas has suspended services to and from the South Australian capital Adelaide, and will cancel flights to Canberra from midday local time (0200 GMT) and all Sydney routes from 3:00pm (0500 GMT).

Its discount airline Jetstar has also called off Adelaide flights while Tiger Airways grounded its entire fleet, with services around Australia cancelled until at least 2pm.

Virgin suspended all flights to Adelaide and Mildura.

It added that its morning services from Sydney to Bangkok, London, Singapore and Frankfurt would fly, but international flights after 3pm were under review.

Meteorologists said that while the ash had thinned during its travels around the world it was still clearly visible on satellite images and was travelling at an altitude of 8-13 kilometres, generally cruising level for aircraft.

The cloud first entered Australian and New Zealand airspace just over a week ago, causing some airlines to ground all flights to affected areas while others chose to divert their planes under and around the plume.

Ash poses a significant threat to aircraft because once sucked into engines it can be converted into molten glass as a result of the high temperatures and potentially cause an engine to fail. (AFP)