20
Volcano continues to disrupt air travel
Tuesday April 20, 2010 - Email this article to a friend
It had been hoped to get more planes flying after the volcanic eruption in Iceland, but now it looks like this will not happen. In Northern Europe some flights have been allowed and airspace has re-opened over parts of The Alps.
More volcanic ash is on its way and the National Air Traffic Service (NATS) in the UK says things are set to get worse.
On Monday it looked like things were improving and there was talk of Heathrow and Gatwick opening later on Tuesday.
That is unlikely to happen, though some long-haul flights may be allowed to land.
In Scotland Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness opened and a couple of internal flights left. Glasgow has since re-shut.
Inverness re-opens Belfast also opened in the morning but is expected to close again later today (Tuesday).
All airports below a line from Blackpool to Teeside are likely to remain shut.
"The situation regarding the volcanic eruption in Iceland remains dynamic and the latest information from the Met Office shows that the situation today will continue to be variable," says a statement from NATS.
Austria and Switzerland have re-opened their airspace but this is no use for skiers and snowboarders in The Alps who wish to return to the UK. They wont be able to land.
Still grounded at London City airportWe have reported here on how some people have made it back from The Alps and what the tour operators have been doing.
Britain has sent Royal Navy warships to rescue those stranded across the Channel.
HMS Albion has arrived in Spain though it is mainly to bring back military personnel.
There is frustration and anger on the quayside from civiliains who have been told they can not board.
300 have been allowed on, but many more have been told they are not allowed to. There are 500 soldiers on the vessell.
The ski industry is breathing a collective sigh of relief as the winter season is pretty much over and there is relatively small disruption.
Imagine how it would have affected the 1m British skiers and snowboarders if the volcano had erupted in the height of the ski season?
An already fragile industry would have been severely damaged.
For further information see this past story on PlanetSKI which contains some dramatic video footage of the volcano eruption and its consequences.
Skiers and snowboarders will be looking closely at what happens over the next few days and how the weekend will be affected.
This video (16th April) is a 'must see' graphic illustration of the weather and volcanic ash travelling over Northern Europe. CNN meterologist Chad Myers explains how the volcanic ash cloud is affecting flight patterns across Europe, and briefly explains its potential hazards to aircraft.
The ABCNews video below shot on 18th April shows the Eyjafjallajökull volcano continuing to blast out clouds of ash. Authorities have set up road blocks to only allow local residents near the volcano.
Meanwhile here's some footage from a flight over the erupting Eyjafjallajökull volcano, shot on Saturday 17th April.
The Associated Press raw video below shows dramatic shots of Eyjafjallajökull erupting - shot on Monday 19th April.
Bookmark this page
Related Articles
More snow for UK (Friday February 10, 2012)24 hours to go (Wednesday February 8, 2012)
Heathrow cancels 30% of flights (Sunday February 5, 2012)
Ski bargains galore (Tuesday January 31, 2012)
By train to The Alps (Wednesday January 25, 2012)
Swiss named top airline (Sunday January 8, 2012)
