The volcanic ash cloud playing havoc with airline schedules was expected to mean the loss of 1,000 flights in Europe yesterday, with airports in Britain and the Netherlands hit, the Eurocontrol agency said.
The cloud, however, was expected to disperse over the day, Europe’s intergovernmental air traffic coordinating agency said, as British and Dutch airports were closed because of the risks of flying through the ash.
“Today, Eurocontrol expects 28,000 flights in Europe. This is approximately 1,000 less than on a normal day and is due to the expected impact of the current closure of airspace in the southeast of the UK and in the Netherlands,” the agency said.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The ash cloud forced the closure of Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport and those in Rotterdam and Groningen until 2pm yesterday, Dutch officials said.
London’s biggest airports, Heathrow and Gatwick reopened yesterday after being forced to close overnight by the ash cloud billowing from the Eyjafjoell volcano in Iceland, but other British airports remained shut.
There were no incoming flights at Gatwick airport in the morning, however, and departing flights were subject to delay and cancelation.
Scotland’s busiest airport, Edinburgh, plus Aberdeen and Inverness were closed, while Wales’ main airport Cardiff was shut, as was Swansea.
In England, Bristol in the southwest and Farnborough, southwest of London, were also closed until 12pm.
North Atlantic overflights through Irish-controlled airspace remained unaffected, despite the cloud drifting over the country. Cork and Kerry, as well as Shannon — an important stopover for flights to the US — were open until further notice, Irish officials said.
“The outlook later tomorrow looks better, I wouldn’t be too optimistic for the early part of the day, but the later part of the day looks better and as the week goes on it should improve,” Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) chief executive Eamon Brennan told national broadcaster RTE.
The volcanic dust at more concentrated levels presents a danger to plane engines, though some industry officials have complained that the safety measures and airport closures have been excessive.
The latest ash closures came at the beginning of a week where air travel disruption was already expected because of a five-day strike by British Airways cabin crew set to begin today.
Eurostar announced yesterday that it was adding 3,500 more seats on routes linking London and Paris, while British rail operator Virgin Trains said it would provide an extra 7,000 seats through yesterday, mainly on the Birmingham to Glasgow and Edinburgh, and London to Glasgow routes.
The UK government had warned that parts of British airspace might have to close through today, with different areas, including the southeast, where Heathrow is located, likely to be closed at different times.
The volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland is continuing to erupt with no signs of the explosive activity about to end and an ash plume was reaching heights of 7,620m, Britain’s Met Office said.
The office said that two aircraft, one from the UK and one from Germany, had flown to investigate the ash plume.
“In many areas the cloud was clearly visible to the naked eye and was described as “a gray-black layer,’” it said. “The pilots ... reported that ‘one should not fly into this layer.’”
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