Volcanic Ash flight disruptions June 2011

[oz_mark]

A volcanic ash cloud from the eruption of Mt Puyehue Cordon Caulle in Chile, will cause some flight disruptions on Sunday 12 June 2011.
The Australian Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) has forecast airspace in Tasmania and the South Island of New Zealand will be impacted.
The following Qantas services will be cancelled on Sunday 12 June:

• QF1010 Hobart to Melbourne scheduled to depart at 6.05am local
  QF45 Sydney to Christchurch scheduled to depart at 7.15am local
  QF46 Christchurch to Sydney scheduled to depart at 1.25pm local
  QF121 Sydney to Queenstown scheduled to depart at 9.05am local
  QF122 Queenstown to Sydney scheduled to depart at 2.30pm local

Qantas will do all possible to contact affected customers to advise of rebooking options.

Qantas Major Disruptions - where we keep you informed of developments and the choices that are available to you

 

[missafternoondelight]

Wow! NZ and Tassie! That's one long cloud..:shock:

 

[Nigelinoz]

Wow! NZ and Tassie! That's one long cloud..:shock:

Indeed it is,the weather bureau has a graph on it's website showing just how big it is.
Volcanic Ash Graphics 5
Interesting that it appears that Virgin have decided not to cancel flights at this stage (10:00AM) but instead have opted to reroute or operate at
lower altitudes,
http://blogs.crikey.com.au/planetalking/2011/06/12/volcanic-ash-plus-fog-flight-delays/
I hope they don't end up regretting the decision to keep flying.
Cheers
N'oz

 

[pshepvic]

I'm in Hobart right now, due to fly out tomorrow night, and then to Sydney Tuesday morning for the VA lunch! I'm wondering if I should be booking a seat on the Spirit of Tasmania for tomorrow just in case...?? I don't want to miss that lunch!

 

[Nigelinoz]

I'm in Hobart right now, due to fly out tomorrow night, and then to Sydney Tuesday morning for the VA lunch! I'm wondering if I should be booking a seat on the Spirit of Tasmania for tomorrow just in case...?? I don't want to miss that lunch!

If I were you I would ring VA and check with them.
Cheers
N'oz

 

[pshepvic]

My flight back tomorrow night is on JQ. All QF and JQ flights today are cancelled. VA are not, as they've adjusted their flying altitude and flight path (no idea why everyone else can't do that either).

No flights out of Hobart though, so I've booked a PE fare on VA from Launceston for tomorrow afternoon just in case! If JQ isn't cancelled, I'll cancel the VA flight. Although I'm predicting there will be chaos with all today's flights cancelled, so it might be a better move to forfeit the JQ fare anyway. And then I wouldn't have to endure a JQ flight either

Spirit of Tassie was fully booked so that wasn't an option.

 

[Mal]

All QF and JQ flights today are cancelled. VA are not, as they've adjusted their flying altitude and flight path (no idea why everyone else can't do that either).

Some airlines are conservative. Some airlines are cowboys. Different people make different decisions, and I'm sure DJ have the "best in the industry" making their calls. I'm sure DJ flying will be regretted by them if they have to rebuild an engine or few... (or even worse).

 

[Nigelinoz]

One has to ask how low an RPT flight can fly on a route like MEL-HBA and what effect it would have on fuel consumption,add to that the danger of ingesting ash and possibly destroying an engine and it really begs the question why a newly relaunched brand like Virgin would continue flying in this sort of situation,I hope they have got the best people available working on it.
Cheers
N'oz
Edited to add: Crikey blog has this -:

The other message is that Qantas and Jetstar have been quick to cancel flights because of their risk assessments, but Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia are ‘working with’ the meteorologists and vulcanologists to devise the right altitudes and routes to avoid the consequences of ingesting volcanic ash into engines, which make for exciting reading for those whose curiosity exceeds their impatience.

 

[markis10]

The list is growing:

The following Qantas and Qantas Link services will be cancelled on Sunday 12 June:

• QF1010 Hobart to Melbourne scheduled to depart at 6.05am local
• QF45 Sydney to Christchurch scheduled to depart at 7.15am local
• QF2051 Melbourne to Devonport scheduled to depart at 8.30 local
• QF1011 Melbourne to Hobart scheduled to depart at 8.45am local
• QF47 Sydney to Wellington scheduled to depart at 8.55am local
• QF37 Melbourne to Wellington scheduled to depart at 9.05am local
• QF121 Sydney to Queenstown scheduled to depart at 9.05am local
• QF1020 Hobart to Sydney scheduled to depart at 10.40pm local
• QF2053 Melbourne to Devonport scheduled to depart at 1145am local
• QF2054 Devonport to Melbourne scheduled to depart at 1.15pm local
• QF46 Christchurch to Sydney scheduled to depart at 1.25pm local
• QF1019 Sydney to Hobart scheduled to depart at 2.15pm local
• QF122 Queenstown to Sydney scheduled to depart at 3.00pm local
• QF38 Wellington to Melbourne scheduled to depart at 3.10pm local
• QF2285 Melbourne to Launceston scheduled to depart at 3.20pm local
• QF2057 Melbourne to Devonport scheduled to depart at 3.40pm local
• QF48 Wellington to Sydney scheduled to depart at 3.55pm local
• QF1012 Hobart to Melbourne scheduled to depart at 4.50pm local
• QF2286 Launceston to Melbourne scheduled to depart at 4.50pm local
• QF2058 Devonport to Melbourne scheduled to depart at 5.10pm local

 

[Kendall Roy]

The list is growing:

The following Qantas and Qantas Link services will be cancelled on Sunday 12 June:

• QF2053 Melbourne to Devonport scheduled to depart at 1145am local

Interesting that prop driven/not jet services are in the same boat.

 

[Nigelinoz]

Emirates is the latest airline to cancel flights,they have cancelled EK 418 and EK 419.
Chilean volcano Puyehue: Qantas, Jetstar and Emirates cancels flights, Darwin and Wellington VAAC forecastsL ash cloud over New Zealand, Tasmania - Flights | hotels | frequent flyer | business class - Australian Business Traveller

Cheers
N'oz
Edited to add: Aus BT have just tweeted that Virgin have now cancelled DJ74/75 BNE to Dunedin and DJ 60/63 MEL-CHC.

 

[markis10]

Interesting that prop driven/not jet services are in the same boat.

A Turboprop will be affected by ash, as will it's Jet APU.

 

[mannej]

Ash from Volcanoes seem to be quite the thorn at the moment.

There seems to be mixed feelings on the danger of volcanic ash. I am sure JB can give us a better answer, and how responsible it is to fly into affected areas.

 

[TheInsider]

Looing at flights out of MEL tonight from QF, and everything seems to be cxld?
Melbourne Airport and QF website is reporting cxld?

Edit: Just read on pprune everything from 6pm will be canned.

 

[TheInsider]

Volcanic Ash Graphics 5

For those interested in the BOM's take on this issue.

 

[oz_mark]

Update from QF

Volcanic ash from the eruption of Mt Puyehue Cordon Caulle in Chile, will cause significant flight disruptions on Sunday 12 June 2011.

The Australian Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) has advised airspace in Tasmania, Melbourne and New Zealand has been impacted.

The following Qantas and Qantas Link services will be affected on Sunday 12 June:
Cancelled Flights
Services in and out of Tasmania
Services between Australia New Zealand.
Services in and out of Melbourne from 6pm local.

 

[markis10]

Well it's been an interesting year, grounded by cyclones and floods, now it looks like I may be affected by a Volcano! Glad I have accommodation booked in MEL, all of a sudden it's at a premium!

 

[Misha]

Well I am now approaching 4 hours in the VA lounge in Melbourne now... Ash is one thing, but the fog that didn't clear till after midday also wreaked havoc... I'm due to fly out on the a330 though am wondering if at the rescheduled time they may tell us the flight has been cancelled altogether?!...

Side note: in the last 10'minutes two fire engines have flown down the Tarmac with sirens wailing... Hope it's a weekend drill.

Flying back tomorrow so fingers crossed there will be minimum knock-on effect from this...

Cheers,

 

[Jasecoop]

Cloud might be bigger. Flew JHB-SYD yesterday, they took a completely different route and the flight time was almost an hour longer. They said we couldnt fly south due to the cloud so the flight took up through the middle of australia rather than over Melbourne

 

[Nigelinoz]

Crikey is saying that Tiger has suspended all flights Australia wide for tonight due to the fact that it bases all it's aircraft in Melbourne overnight,it will post details of tomorrows flights on it's website from 5AM ,the ash cloud now extends into southern NSW so this will no doubt affect operations into ABX and WGA,it's a good thing that tomorrow is Queens Birthday holiday in Victoria so there should be less people travelling tomorrow than a normal Monday.
I can't see that Virgin will continue operating tomorrow if the ash speads much further.
Qantas Melbourne flights cancelled from 6 pm because of ash | Plane Talking
Cheers
N'oz
Edited to add:Aus BT has just tweeted that Virgin have now cancelled all flights into and out of Melbourne as of 7PM tonight.