This is not an excuse for Jetstar to cancel flights!!!
We have had staff communications today since the cancellations that state it is Qantas policy that flights can't operate 'under' forecast ash cloud which has led to the cancellations for both Qantas and Jetstar. It is an interesting situation as obviously the most safe option is to have aircraft on the ground and not risk a ash cloud encounter. Having said that though, I also wouldn't say that operating at lower altitudes is necessarily unsafe. I guess it comes down to a 'gut call'. What is positive is that at the moment the regulators are leaving it up to the airlines themselves to decide unlike in Europe where there was just a blanket ban.
Does this mean that Qantas and Jetstar have put 'safety ahead of profit, whereas Air NZ and Virgin have put profit ahead of safety. I know Ryanair copped alot of flak in the UK when they said they would be willing to fly under the ash cloud with lot's of people stating that they obviously were more interested in profit!!