London, England (News Terupdate) - Volcanic ash from Iceland snarled air traffic across Europe for a second day Friday, causing the cancellation of some 16,000 flights, according to the intergovernmental body that manages European air travel.
The ash cloud is expected to drift farther south and eastward through Europe on Friday night, Eurocontrol said, raising concerns that more countries and airports could be affected.
The cloud comes from an eruption under an Icelandic glacier that began early Wednesday. The eruption through the Eyjafjallajokull glacier is the latest in a series that began on March 20.
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The volcano was still erupting Friday and producing a lot of ash, said a spokesman for Iceland's Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management.
"It is reasonable to assume that there will be some significant disruption to European air traffic tomorrow," Eurocontrol Deputy Head Brian Flynn said at a news conference in Brussels, Belgium. He called the situation "major and unprecedented."
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Eurocontrol said it expected around 11,000 flights to take place Friday, in contrast with the usual 28,000.
Officials said the ash can cause aircraft engines and electrical systems to fail.
The International Air Traffic Association, which represents 230 airlines worldwide, estimated the financial impact on airlines at more than $200 million a day in lost revenue.
The ash has forced the closure of some of Europe's busiest airports, including Charles de Gaulle in Paris, France, Heathrow in London, England, and Schiphol in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Airspace was closed over Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Estonia and the Netherlands. It was partially closed in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Poland, Sweden, Norway and Ireland, Eurocontrol and local authorities said.
The United Kingdom's National Air Traffic Service announced that airspace restrictions over the UK will remain in place until at least 1:00 p.m. Saturday.
Norway's airspace closure included cancellation of helicopter flights to off-shore oil installations.
The French closure included all Paris airports.
Germany closed all its airports until at least Saturday morning, German air security said. Airspace above 36,000 feet remain open.
Warsaw and Krakow airports in Poland were closed, affecting plans for world leaders to attend the Sunday funeral of Polish President Lech Kaczynski.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorsky said the services "will not be postponed, but they will be affected." The papal legate who was to lead the funeral mass has "apparently canceled," Sikorsky added. "And, quite frankly, we can't blame people for not wanting to take even the smallest risk to the security of air traffic in the circumstances."
President Obama still plans to attend the funeral.
The Spanish airport authority said 617 fights have been canceled and that 40 percent of the scheduled 1,600 flights between Spain and northern Europe were affected by the ash.
Medevac flights from Afghanistan and Iraq were being rerouted from their usual landing point at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where flight operations are shut down, U.S. military officials said.
U.S. carriers canceled approximately 280 flights Friday between the United States and volcano-affected areas in Europe, according to the Air Transport Association of America.
Two Royal Air Force bases in England -- at Lakenheath and Mildenhall -- will be shut for at least two days, the U.S. Air Force said Thursday. Dozens of U.S. Air Force F-15s and other fighter jets and tankers are not flying, and flights to Iraq and Afghanistan flying through that airspace are being diverted to other routes.
The Finnish air force said Friday it had found severe damage to the engines of F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets flown the day before when the airspace was open.
The accumulated ash melted in the combustion chamber, the air force said, a situation that could lead to the overheating of engines and overall deterioration.
At least some of the engines have had to be removed, the Finnish air force said.
Air transport and weather authorities all over Europe are working together and with the airlines to discuss the impact of the ash cloud, British Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis said.
Adonis said he would discuss contingency plans with transport officials Friday in case the situation continues.
English Channel ferry operators and Eurostar, which runs high-speed trains between London, Paris and Brussels, said they were experiencing a high demand as passengers seek other ways of getting to their destinations. Adonis said Eurostar had added services to cope with demand.
Travelers rush to trains and ferries
Passengers at Heathrow's Terminal 1 seemed resigned to having missed their flights.
"I don't want the plane going down. This is really dangerous," one man said. "But I've been in some different situations over the years, and this is a new one."
One traveler said she had missed a wedding because of the problems.
"Not sure if we're still going to go or not," she said. "I don't know that there's any point any more, 'cause we've missed everything the trip was ultimately for."
Hotels around Heathrow were full Friday as they tried to accommodate stranded passengers. Dozens of children played soccer in the Renaissance Hotel's reception area, which is usually filled with business travelers and flight attendants.
Passengers stranded at Frankfurt Airport in Germany received food and other supplies. Spokesman Robert Payne said authorities distributed 1,000 cots along with cold drinks, hot soup, bread, baby food, diapers and toiletries.
U.S. carriers canceled 196 flights Friday between the United States and volcano-affected areas in Europe, according to the Air Transport Association of America.
Delta Air Lines canceled 65 international flights from its U.S. hubs scheduled over Thursday night and Friday morning in response to the ash cloud. The decision affected flights to Amsterdam; London; Shannon, Ireland; Brussels; and Mumbai, India. Delta said it would determine later Friday whether to resume flights.
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Air China announced the cancellation of most of its Friday flights to Europe.
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific also canceled or delayed flights from Hong Kong to London, Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam.
It's hard to predict how long it will be before air travel can resume, said Matthew Watson, a geophysicist at England's Bristol University.
"You really need two things to happen: You need the volcano to stop emplacing ash to the altitude that commercial aircraft fly at, 30,000 to 35,000 feet, and you then need the upper level winds to blow the ash and disperse it out of the airspace," Watson said.
How long that will take "depends very much on the volcano. If this is it and it's stopped right now and it doesn't do anything else ... I imagine you are looking at 24 to 48 hours to clear UK airspace," he said.
Experts: No end to volcano ash in sight
Britain's Health Protection Agency said the concentration of ash particles that may reach the ground in Britain will likely be low and not cause serious harm. People may suffer irritated eyes, runny noses or sore throats -- or even notice the smell of sulphur -- but any effects are likely to be short term, the agency said.
If the airspace closures continue for as long as three days, some 6 million passengers will be affected, the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation estimated Friday.
Passengers also may not be able to make travel insurance claims because the volcano's impact may be classified as an act of God, the center said.
"Recovery in the key trans-Atlantic business market (the lifeblood for many European and U.S. long-haul airlines) is still elusive, while short-haul premium demand within Europe continues to contract," the center said in an analysis on its Web site.
"Airlines' finances, particularly in Europe, remain fragile, and airline managements will be hoping the ash -- and the attendant paranoia -- settles quickly."
Source : CNN
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Volcanic ash disrupts more flights across Europe
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