Qantas and Virgin Australia were forced to cancel up to 200 flights from Perth airport as the ash cloud from the Chilean Puyehue-Cordon Caulle Volcano crossed the southwest corner of the country.
The ash cloud has fallen in altitude to between 15,000 ft. and 35,000 ft. from 25,000 ft. and 35,000 ft. altitude, which means more flights have been affected. This cloud is expected to be clear of the country by tomorrow, says the Darwin Volcanic Ash Cloud Advisory Centre.
Many international flights were unaffected as airlines flew around the cloud using more convoluted routes.
The said it was hopeful the worst of the ash cloud, which has played havoc with travel across Australia, will be clear from the continent by Thursday. Then airlines will have to begin clearing the backlog of more than 70,000 customers in Australia and New Zealand affected by the cancellations since the weekend. Qantas is planning to use 747s on domestic routes to cope with the added numbers.