Qantas Cancels All Sydney, Melbourne Flights On Wednesday

Qantas cancels all Sydney, Melbourne flights on Wednesday

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian flag carrier Qantas has cancelled all flights into and out of Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra on Wednesday as the Chilean ash cloud wreaks havoc.

The decision followed the airline, along with Virgin, Jetstar and Tiger, halting services to Sydney, Canberra and Adelaide on Tuesday, stranding tens of thousands of passengers.

"We estimate that we will be cancelling in excess of 200 flights on Wednesday," Qantas spokeswoman Olivia Wirth told reporters.

"The experts say we simply won't be able to operate in this situation."

Virgin followed suit, with services to Melbourne suspended until at least 1.00pm (0200 GMT) on Wednesday and flights into and out of Sydney and Canberra until 4.00pm (0500 GMT).

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.

It 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.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2011-06-21