Cyclones, floods, earthquakes and now an ash-spewing volcano have come at a high price for Australia’s aviation and tourism industries, which analysts say are losing tens of millions of dollars a day.

Already struggling with surging fuel costs and a mining-driven rally in the Australian dollar that has seen an exodus of holidaymakers offshore, tourism and travel operators could little afford this year’s string of disasters.

The ash cloud from Chile’s Puyehue volcano grounded hundreds of domestic and international flights in Australia this week, the second major disruption due to the plume. Sydney, the nation’s biggest airport, all but shut down for some 24 hours, and flights from Asia and Europe had to be diverted to Brisbane, stranding thousands of passengers and leaving airlines with a hefty bill.

“This will be having a very major effect (and) not only on the airlines,” aviation analyst Neil Hansford said.

“All they’re going to save by not flying is the fuel, the payments for air traffic fees, some airport charges... but they can only get rid of up to 20 per cent of their costs; 80 per cent of their costs sit there whether they fly or not.

Mr Hansford, chairman of consultancy Strategic Aviation Solutions, said the latest flight chaos would have a particularly hard impact because it came mid-week, impacting business travel.

“You take taxis, then you’ve got to take hotels, restaurants... because this is right in the heart of the business week,” he said.

Airports, which mainly profited from parking, would also see significant one-off losses from the upheaval, which affected most of the nation’s major terminals, he added.

Australian flag carrier Qantas yesterday said the ash had cost $21 million before this week’s chaos, on top of $185 million in losses following earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand and local flooding and cyclones.