Hotel di Jogja - The warning comes as the International Air Transport Association puts the mounting financial toll on premium airlines, including Qantas, at about $215 million a day. Geophysicists have warned ash could continue to be sporadically blown above Europe's busiest airports for some time.More than 24,000 flights have been grounded since the April 14 eruption. After cancelling about 30 flights between Australia and Europe during the week, Qantas today resumed services with Asian stop-overs.
But Qantas group executive of government and corporate affairs David Epstein warned flights from Australia and Asia to Europe were "highly unlikely'' to go ahead in the next 24 hours.
"It's difficult to project ahead the future with any great certainty at the moment,'' he said.
Mr Epstein said about 8000 passengers across Qantas' international network had been affected.
He said most of those stranded had been given help to find accommodation in Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok.
Mr Epstein said Qantas was contacting passengers and putting updated information on its website.
He called on passengers not to attend airports until their flights had been confirmed.
Mr Epstein said Qantas was working on a range of strategies to help clear the logistical nightmare it faced from cancelled flights, including full fare waivers and the rescheduling of trips.
He said it would be up to European air traffic authorities to determine when European airspace would be re-opened.
"It's best to put safety before schedule,'' he said.
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