Chile volcano ash grounds Australia, NZ aeroplanes

Ash from Chile's volcanic eruptions prompted Australian airlines to ground some domestic services and flights to New Zealand on Sunday, stranding thousands of people after plumes drifted across the Pacific.

Strong winds have carried the ash clouds some 9,400 kilometers across the Pacific Ocean to New Zealand since Chile's Puyehue volcano erupted more than a week ago, and they are now entering Australian airspace.

National carrier Qantas cancelled all flights to and from the southeastern island of Tasmania and all flights to and from Christchurch, Queenstown and Wellington.

It later extended the groundings to all flights to and from the southern Australian city of Melbourne and those to and from New Zealand's Auckland, affecting around 8,000 passengers in total.

No intercontinental flights were immediately hit as none were scheduled to land in Melbourne Sunday evening.

"We will put them back up in the air as soon as possible but it's a safety first approach for our customers," Qantas spokeswoman Olivia Wirth told ABC radio.

Qantas said it had taken the precautionary measure while finding out more about the density of the cloud.

The authority said Saturday New Zealand airspace might be affected for at least a week, given that the volcano was still erupting.

AFP