Air chaos ends in Canberra

Flights in and out of Canberra have now resumed after being grounded by the threat from a volcanic ash cloud for most of the last 36 hours. (ABC TV News)

Canberra Airport predicts the backlog of passengers stranded by the Chilean ash cloud will be cleared by the end of the day.

Flights in and out of the national capital have now resumed after being grounded for most of the last 36 hours.

More than 12,000 passengers in Canberra were affected by the latest ash cloud delays.

Managing Director of Canberra Airport Stephen Byron says there are enough seats to cater for all those who need to fly.

"QANTAS and Virgin should be able to clear all of the passengers that want to get into or out of Canberra by close of business today," Mr Byron said.

"There are still seats available on flights as I speak now, to most of the destinations with both airlines. The backlog will be cleared by putting people in those vacant seats."

National delays

Air services around the country are gradually returning to normal after flight cancellations to Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra and Adelaide.

Hundreds of travellers spent the night stranded at airports as flights around the country were disrupted for the second time in just over a week.

Across Australia Virgin Airlines estimated that 13,000 passengers would be affected today, while Qantas spokeswoman Olivia Wirth says the airline believed another 30,000 of its customers would have their travel be disrupted.

The Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre says Hobart will be the only major Australian city with ash over it at the end of the day.