Thousands of international air passengers stranded in New Zealand by ash from a Chilean volcano are hoping for some good news today as airlines reassess their decision to cancel flights.
Air New Zealand is the only airline to continue flying and said today there was nothing to stop other airlines doing what its pilots are doing and flying below the ash cloud.
Qantas, Jetstar, Pacific Blue, Virgin and Emirates, have delayed or cancelled flights in and out of New Zealand, affecting nearly 20,000 passengers.
Air New Zealand spokeswoman Marie Hosking said today Air New Zealand flights were flying below the ash cloud, which had a ceiling of 8229m (27,000ft).
The Civil Aviation Authority yesterday raised the safe flying level from 6100m (20,000ft) to 8200m (27,000ft).
Ms Hosking said the airline had no plans to cancel flights today.
"We are continuing operations at a lower cruising level."
Asked why other airlines could not do that and continue to fly, she replied: "They could. That is their decision."
Jetstar said today the safety of passengers and crew was its number one priority.
"Jetstar will not be flying into airspace that remains affected by the ash cloud until we confident it is safe to do so."
Qantas said it would not fly below the ash cloud for safety reasons.
"We want to assure the safety of crew, the safety of our passengers, and ultimately the safety of our airlines," said Qantas spokeswoman, Olivia Wirth.
Ms Hosking said Air New Zealand loadings were very high but she could not say if that was due to other airlines being grounded.
In Australia more than 60,000 passengers have been stranded by the ash cloud which began when the Chilean volcano began erupting more than a week ago.
Qantas said it could take 24 to 48 hours to clear just the Melbourne backlog.
Yesterday's disruptions kept a further 10,000 passengers stranded in New Zealand.
They included the Australian women's netball team and the West Tigers rugby league team.
