Air NZ cancels flights to south

Air New Zealand has cancelled all morning flights in and out of Invercargill, Dunedin and Christchurch as a "finger of ash" from the Chilean volcanic cloud reaches down to increasingly disrupt travellers' plans.
It has now joined other airlines in cancelling flights as the ash cloud from Chile's Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcano travels around the southern hemisphere.
Shane Kennedy, owner of Tauranga's House of Travel, today told the Bay of Plenty Times most travellers were being patient. However, for those wanting to get in or out of quake-hit Christchurch, it was frustrating.
Mr Kennedy has domestic clients affected by today's cancellations.
"You've got to feel for our Christchurch friends because there are people trying to fly down to help them at the moment, and there are also people wanting to leave".
Fresh disruption to travel plans presented challenges for business and Mr Kennedy said it was a reminder to travellers that "incidents can happen" and to have a back-up plan: "Kiwis, we're quite clever and find solutions".
Tauranga's House of Travel has "dozens" of clients in Australia affected by cancelled flights and had three men stranded in Chile for three days. The trio managed to catch a flight home at 12am today.
Civil Aviation Authority meteorologist Peter Lechner said the main ash cloud was 27,000ft above the country but a South Island southerly front had lowered some of it to about 10,000ft.
"This current small ash cloud is just a finger moving in from a larger body that is to the southwest of the South Island."
He believed it would stay there most of today, although it could move off sooner.
Flights around the Southern Alps needed a large, clear block of air for safety and with the cloud down to 10,000ft there was not enough space for the larger aircraft, he said.
Yesterday evening 11 Air NZ flights were cancelled to and from Invercargill, Dunedin and Christchurch.
"Ash at these new low levels gives us no choice but to cancel some services this morning," said Air NZ chief pilot David Morgan.
Until yesterday Air New Zealand had continued to fly all trans-Tasman routes and domestic routes at a lower altitude to avoid the ash cloud.
Qantas and Jetstar cancelled all morning flights to and from New Zealand. Jetstar said it would not fly into airspace affected by the ash cloud until it was confident it was safe.
Affected passengers had the options of deferring travel, arranging to fly in to or out of unaffected airports, or a full refund.
Meanwhile, both airlines said all Australian flights would resume today.
The disruptions and cancellations have left thousands of frustrated travellers stranded on both sides of the Tasman.
WeatherWatch.co.nz forecaster Philip Duncan said the ash cloud may just touch the south-eastern corner of the North Island, but no airports were there and planes could easily fly to the west.
The ash plumes were "like a giant motorway in the sky, it's an ever changing motorway so it's hard to exactly pinpoint four to six days down the track exactly where that ash will go".