Both Qantas and Virgin Australia are flying from Australian airports today, having already shifted a backlog of tens of thousands of passengers. This means that both the major airports of Melbourne and Sydney are fully functional, with no reports of any further delays. Australia’s Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (part of the Bureau of Meteorology) has stated that the ash plume should not pass over Australia for a third time, meaning that we have hopefully experienced the last of the disruptions to Australian airspace.

This will be Staysure’s last update with regards to the Australian volcanic ash plume, unless there are any unforeseen changes. We wish all who are travelling a safe and pleasant journey.

Australian airspace will be disrupted for the next 48 hours due to the Chilean volcanic ash plume making a return to the region. Both Qantas and Virgin have grounded their flights from Australia, with affected airports being Melbourne (for 36 to 48 hours from Wednesday), Sydney (for 36 to 48 hours), Adelaide (for 24 hours) and Canberra (for 36 to 48 hours). As it stands, all Australian domestic flights have been grounded until further notice.

Local news station ABC has reported that international flights inbound to Sydney have been diverted to Brisbane, meaning that passengers may experience some delay but should still be able to travel. However, passengers returning from Australia to an international destination may experience delays or cancellations, depending on which airport they are flying from as well as which airline they are flying with.

Staysure will keep you updated as soon as we receive any information; however, in the meantime we hope that you find the following links useful: