Airlines hit back over ‘malicious rumours’ about ash cloud damage
Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand have both rubbished rumours that their aircraft sustained damage by flying through plumes of ash over Australia and the Tasman this week.
A Virgin Australia spokesman told Fairfax newspapers the airline had added an extra layer of precautionary checks on aircraft and engines since the arrival of the ash cloud.
“To date we’ve found absolutely no evidence of ash on any of our aircraft,” he said.
“It’s kind of hard to get ash damage when you’re not flying through ash.”
Air New Zealand responded forcefully to “malicious rumours†about ash damage to its jets.
In a statement, Air NZ CEO Rob Fyfe said while his airline worked to maintain safe operations, rumours were being spread.
“Behind the scenes we were constantly battling a series of malicious rumours that emerged from the Australian market and fed to media, suggesting that Air New Zealand had six aircraft in the hangar with ash damage, an aircraft grounded in Australia with ash damage and an aircraft requiring a nose cone replacement as a result of ash damage,” he explained. 

“All these stories were a complete fiction and I was left scratching my head as to where these false rumours were coming from.”
In a response to reported comments by Qantas chief Alan Joyce about the ash cloud situation and the decision by Qantas to ground flights, Fyfe said: “What Alan failed to mention was that Qantas was very happy to transfer thousands of its customers on to Air New Zealand and other airlines’ services, which seems a strange thing to do for your customers if you have concerns about the safety of the airspace.”
By TravelMole Australia
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
TAP Air Portugal to operate 29 flights due to strike on December 11
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Air Mauritius reduces frequencies to Europe and Asia for the holiday season
Major rail disruptions around and in Berlin until early 2026