As many as 16,000 passengers have had travel plans disrupted following the cancellation of flights to Australia's Melbourne and Hobart and Auckland in New Zealand after volcanic ash from the eruption of Cordon Caulle in southern Chile spread west.
Qantas, Virgin and Tiger airlines all announced service cancellations.
Virgin said it would halt all domestic and international flights into and out of Melbourne from 19.00hrs Sunday evening as a precautionary measure.
Qantas cancelled all flights to and from Tasmania and all flights to and from Christchurch, Queenstown and Wellington, New Zealand.
The carrier also cancelled all flights to and from Melbourne from 18.00hrs Sunday and flights to and from Auckland (from 18.00hrs local).
Qantas says it will continue to monitor the movement of the ash cloud and its impact on further operations.
Aircargo Asia Pacific