Many Australian domestic and trans-Tasman flights are being affected by a volcanic ash cloud on its second circuit of the globe.
The Puyehue volcano in Chile began erupting on 4 June and is continuing to cause disruption for thousands of passengers as the volcanic ash cloud circles the southern hemisphere.
Airports in South Australia were closed on Tuesday morning, and Qantas said it was cancelling all flights in and out of Canberra from 12pm local time.
As the day progressed, Sydney flights were affected with Jetstar and Pacific Blue cancelling all their flights between New Zealand and Sydney on Tuesday evening and Qantas halting all its operations out of the city.
Two other services due into this country from Sydney on Tuesday - an Aerolineas Argentinas flight and one by a Chilean airline - have also been cancelled.
Air New Zealand is still operating its trans-Tasman schedule but says it is constantly reviewing the situation.
The ash cloud is affecting the travel plans of as many as 120,000 people around Australia, with around 10,000 stranded at Sydney airport alone.
The problem is expected to continue into Wednesday with Qantas delaying, by at least 24 hours, flights to and from Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne.
Cloud to clear Australia but NZ in path
The Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in Darwin, which is monitoring the ash cloud, expects it to clear Australia during Wednesday, with Australian skies the last to clear on Wednesday evening.
Its head, Andrew Tupper, told Checkpoint the cloud is moving very fast, at about 180 kilometres per hour.
The Civil Aviation Authority expects the ash cloud to arrive over New Zealand late on Wednesday morning, but says it should be too high to cause much disruption.
Peter Lechner from the CAA says it will mainly cover the North Island with its base at 24,000 feet rising to 40,000 feet.
