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Hedland escapes ash chaos

Port Hedland dodged the brunt of any financial impact associated with the Chilean ash cloud last week, according to its Mayor.

Thousands of passengers were left stranded across Australia and New Zealand last week as low level dense ash grounded flights.

Two flights from Hedland to Perth were cancelled last Wednesday, with two return services, operated by Virgin Australia on Thursday, also called off.

Tourism WA last week estimated that the aviation quagmire could see potential losses reach a whopping $54 million.

“There was minimum disruption to flights to and from Port Hedland last week,” said Mayor Kelly Howlett.

“There was a minimal impact on the local economy. There was a bigger issue in Karratha with fly-in, fly-out workers than there was here. A number of people extended their stay in Hedland due to their flights being cancelled,” Cr Howlett said.

Meanwhile, residents of the North West have been advised not to worry if they see unusual activity in the skies in the coming weeks.

Special flight safety checks will be carried out at Port Hedland and Newman aerodromes as part of state-wide initiative.

The checks are being conducted to make sure flight paths at the aerodromes continue to be safe.

“If you see uncommon aircraft patterns in the skies until July 2, don’t be alarmed,” said Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Peter Gibson.

“This is to make sure obstacles are accurately marked on charts and no new obstacles exist.

“These checks take place every three years to revalidate flight paths to aerodromes to ensure flight safety.

“Low-level flying is an essential part of the safety exercise, with aircraft down as low as several hundred feet at times.”