some facts (update 15 april, 11 a.m. CET):

- airports in norway, sweden, finnland, denmark, ireland, the UK closed or about to close due to a volcanic eruption in iceland
- western russian airspace also affected
- airports further south (like CDG, AMS, FRA, etc) not affected yet
- AMS to close at 7 p.m. CET
- planes from the US or East Asia returning to departure airports
- british airways diverts longhaul flights to BRU, FRA and MUC


From CFMU -Central Flow Management Unit 0746z
Update Following The Volcanic Ash Teleconference

In Accordance With Icao Regulations Atc Units Cannot Issue Ifr
Clearances To Traffic In Areas Affected By Or Forecast To Be
Affected By The Volcanic Ash Cloud
.
This Means That Zero Rates Have Been Applied For:
.
All Scottish Airspace
.
London Airspace North Of Birmingham
.
Copenhagen Northern Airspace. Southern Sectors Will Be Restricted
With Zero Rate From 1000 Utc
.
Oslo Airspace
.
Stavanger Airspace.
.
Stockholm North Sectors
.
The Above Are Currently Unavailable To Ifr Traffic. The Following
Areas Are Foreseen To Be Restricted Later In The Day:
.
Information Just Received That All London Sectors Will Not
Be Available To Ifr Traffic From 1100 Utc Until 1800 Utc
.
Dublin Airspace Will Be Restricted By Zero Rate From 1100 Utc
.
Shannon Airspace May Be Closed To Ifr Traffic Shortly But This Is
Under Review. This Would Mean T9 And T16 Would Not Be Available
.
Notams Will Be Issued By Relevant National Authorities Concerning
Route Availability Outside These Areas
.
All Traffic Operating Nat Should Load Extra Fuel In Anticipation
Of
Lower Than Optimal Fl Allocation. This Includes Traffic Operating
On T9 And T16
.
At This Time Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Frankfurt And
*
All Other Aerodromes South Of The North Sea And English
Channel Are Unaffected.
.
Next Teleconference Will Be At 1000 Utc. Details In A Separate Aim
.
Regards,
Network Operations
Cfmu
Brussels

more:

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/flightops/public/en_gb?p_faqid=4002

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Iceland-Volcano-Grounds-UK-Flights-Volcanic-Ash-Sweeps-Into-British-Airspace-Closing-Airports/Article/201004315602425?lpos=UK_News_Carousel_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15602425_Iceland_Volcano_Grounds_UK_Flights:_Volcanic_Ash_Sweeps_Into_British_Airspace_Closing_Airports

http://www.thelocal.se/26082/20100415/

from airliners.net (radar shot showing the empty airspace in northern europe - it doesn't show the actual number of planes though)

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/2874/radr.jpg (http://img59.imageshack.us/i/radr.jpg/)

london airports are closing at 1200 (GMT)

Was about to post just that. Wonder how long will the eruption last. There's potential for long-term disruptions.:doh:

News reports are now saying that all UK airspace will close from 12pm our time.

Very scary looking live feed from the eruption site: http://eldgos.mila.is/eyjafjallajokull-fra-valahnjuk/

Yes, and someone on A.net said AMS will follow, possibily Brussels and I presume CDG. Of course all the other airports in these regions will be affected, but the bulk of traffic is in and out of these hubs.

update:

EUROCONTROL decided to close the airspace of belgium, the netherlands, luxemburg and parts of germany at 1600 CET.

http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/1870/47649196thismap.jpg

shit, it's expanding. flights from frankfurt to chicago and seattle are returning to frankfurt. hope this is gone soon, I'm flying to the US on saturday ... or not.

The eruption could last a while, but if winds shift you might get lucky.

I was due to fly to Florence tomorrow morning at 7 :(

Looks like the airlines let you change your flight to another day for free, but obviously it's to late to cancel the hotel reservation...so that money would be lost. :bash:

Dutch airspace is expected to be closed at 19:00 CET, but I can't tell you how long this will last, sorry.:( Maybe it will be open in time for your flight to depart.

Wow. This is a mess

Yikes ... can't imagine the effect of London having to shut down its airports.

This will cause one giant mess. In the evening almost all major northern European airports will be shut down (LHR,AMS,BRU,DUB,MAN,LGW,OSL,ARN,CPH,STN) and CDG, FRA, DUS and ORY might possibly follow soon.

indeed. apparently CDG and 23 other french airports are supposed to be closed. air france and lufthansa are cancelling all flights between CDG and FRA.

Forecast for April 16 at 6:00 GMT:ohno:

http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/124/5icelandvolcano466.jpg

More detailed animation of the ash-spread the next hours. Made by the Norwegian Met. office.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/cityw/Other/Ashspread1a.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/cityw/Other/Ashspread3a.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/cityw/Other/Ashspread5a.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/cityw/Other/Ashspread7a.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/cityw/Other/Ashspread9a.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/cityw/Other/Ashspread12a.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/cityw/Other/Ashspread14a.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/cityw/Other/Ashspread17a.jpg

Current situation...
http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/6913/16761985.png

Heathrow Airport is having some very bad luck this year........ first it's snowstorm, than British Airways' strike, now the volcano eruption........

Over 300 flights from Glasgow cancelled today and the airport will stay closed till at least 13:00 tomorrow.

Its going to take along time to clear the backlog from this.

Glasgow for Friday 16 April 2010 from 06:00am till 10.35am.

06:00 KL1470 AMSTERDAM CANCELLED
06:30 BD001 HEATHROW CANCELLED
06:30 EZY6877 ALICANTE CANCELLED
06:30 FR696 PALMA CANCELLED
06:30 FR653 TENERIFE CANCELLED
06:30 TOM1524 PALMA CANCELLED
06:40 FR651 FARO CANCELLED
06:45 BA2953 GATWICK CANCELLED
06:45 BE881 SOUTHAMPTON CANCELLED
06:50 FR404 LONDON STANSTED CANCELLED
06:55 BE1431 CARDIFF CANCELLED
07:00 BA1475 HEATHROW CANCELLED
07:00 BD1292 LEEDS B/FORD CANCELLED
07:00 BE341 MANCHESTER CANCELLED
07:00 BE6820 STORNOWAY CANCELLED
07:00 EZY206 STANSTED CANCELLED
07:00 EZY462 BELFAST INTL CANCELLED
07:00 FR6953 FUERTEVENTURA CANCELLED
07:00 TCX933K HERAKLION DELAYED
07:00 TCX911K TENERIFE CANCELLED
07:00 TS325 TORONTO CANCELLED
07:05 BE781 BIRMINGHAM CANCELLED
07:05 EZY066 LONDON LUTON CANCELLED
07:15 TOM1418 LANZAROTE CANCELLED
07:30 CO016 NEWARK NYC CANCELLED
07:30 FR771 DUBLIN CANCELLED
07:45 BA8723 LONDON CITY CANCELLED
08:00 BE125 BELFAST CITY CANCELLED
08:00 EI3220 DUBLIN CANCELLED
08:00 BE125 BELFAST CITY CANCELLED
08:00 EI3220 DUBLIN CANCELLED
08:10 WW5821 EAST MIDLANDS CANCELLED
08:20 EZY067 LONDON LUTON CANCELLED
08:25 BE126 BELFAST CITY CANCELLED
08:25 EI3221 DUBLIN SCHEDULED
08:25 BE880 SOUTHAMPTON CANCELLED
08:30 BA1472 HEATHROW CANCELLED
08:30 BE6921 ISLAY CANCELLED
08:30 EZY401 BRISTOL CANCELLED
08:35 TCX519K TENERIFE CANCELLED
08:35 WW5822 EAST MIDLANDS CANCELLED
08:45 EZY6883 PARIS CDG CANCELLED
08:45 EZY463 BELFAST INTL CANCELLED
08:50 BE883 SOUTHAMPTON CANCELLED
08:55 BE6843 CAMPBELTOWN CANCELLED
08:55 EZY402 BRISTOL CANCELLED
09:00 CO017 NEWARK NYC CANCELLED
09:00 EZY785 GATWICK CANCELLED
09:00 TCX693K SHARM EL SHEIKH CANCELLED
09:10 BD003 HEATHROW CANCELLED
09:10 EZY6861 MALAGA CANCELLED
09:25 BD1291 LEEDS B/FORD CANCELLED
09:25 EZY786 GATWICK CANCELLED
09:30 BE6821 STORNOWAY CANCELLED
09:35 FR772 DUBLIN CANCELLED
09:35 TOM782 SHARM EL SHEIKH CANCELLED
09:40 FR407 LONDON STANSTED CANCELLED
09:40 BE342 MANCHESTER CANCELLED
09:50 BA1474 HEATHROW CANCELLED
09:55 EZY207 STANSTED CANCELLED
10:00 BA2957 GATWICK CANCELLED
10:00 BE6807 BENBECULA CANCELLED
10:00 FR692 ALICANTE CANCELLED
10:05 FR7892 GOTHENBURG CANCELLED
10:05 BE784 BIRMINGHAM CANCELLED
10:10 BE1432 CARDIFF CANCELLED
10:15 BD1683 COPENHAGEN CANCELLED
10:15 SK9729 COPENHAGEN CANCELLED
10:20 EZY464 BELFAST INTL CANCELLED
10:20 BE6922 ISLAY CANCELLED
10:25 FR691 ALICANTE CANCELLED
10:20 BE882 SOUTHAMPTON CANCELLED

Result: fully booked Eurostar trains and other international trains.

Luckily this doesn't happen very often... Let's just hope this won't last too long.

Greetings,
Glodenox

In the news the said this might last over a year. And a nearby volcano might erupt as well. Fortunaterly there is good train network in Europe.

I was due to fly to Florence tomorrow morning at 7 :(

Looks like the airlines let you change your flight to another day for free, but obviously it's to late to cancel the hotel reservation...so that money would be lost. :bash:

Can't you just take the train? Normally airlines pay your train ticket if they can't fly.

Can't you just take the train? Normally airlines pay your train ticket if they can't fly.

That would depend where he is travelling from. If its from another Italian destination on the main land then maybe, otherwise the train is pretty useless.

Can't you just take the train? Normally airlines pay your train ticket if they can't fly.

The fastest train connection from Amsterdam to Florence takes 18! hours and requires 3 train changes in Frankfurt, Zurich and Milan...hardly an option for a short 3 day citytrip.

:uh:

Depending on how far the ash plume spreads throughout Europe, it might interfere with the foreign dignitaries attending the state funeral in Poland this weekend. It's not like Obama has the option of taking the train and an trans-Atlantic crossing by ship hardly seems realistic given the time constraints. What are the options for the various dignitaries if European airspace is still locked down?

Result: fully booked Eurostar trains and other international trains.

But they are on strike....
CDG and ORY are closed at least until 14:00 (CET).

Don't expect to travel by car: due to school holidays, it's one of the busiest week-end of the year.

Now, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Berlin and Dusseldorf are closed.

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/272/89099624.png

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/272/89099624.png

Can we confirm the airspace south and south east of europe remains operational...

Yes, it does. Some countries just don't have ADS-B coverage in RadarVirtuel, so that why they always appear empty. Also only ADS-B enabled aircraft appear on the map, so just a portion of overall traffic, but I reckon a majority of airline traffic.

Here's what's closed. (Note that Z = Zulu = GMT; Maastricht UAC = Maastricht Upper Area Control = airspace over and above 7,500 meters in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and North-West Germany)
Airspaces zero-rated until...
(aerodromes geographically located within these airspaces will be unavailable)
Belgium: 16-1600z
Denmark: 17-0000z
Estonia: 17-0000z
Finland: 17-0000z
France - Reims ACC: 16-1200z
France - Paris ACC: 16-1800z
France - Brest-north sectors: 1200z
Germany - Langen & Dusseldorf: 16-1600z
Germany - Karlsruhe: 16-1200z
Germany - Bremen: 16-1800z
Germany - Munich-north/east: 16-1600z
Germany-Frankfurt Airspace 16-1600z
Maastricht UAC: 16-1800z
Netherlands: 16-1600z
Norway BD limited availabilty/contact FMP for details Poland north: 16-1600z
Poland south: 16-from 0800 to 1600z
Republic of Ireland Shannon 16-0900z
Republic of Ireland Dublin: 16-1000z
Sweden: 16-2359z
-ESOSNK OPEN FROM 1300Z EXCEPT SECTOR ESOS4

United Kingdom excluding scotland : 16-2359z

Airports zero-rated until...
EFHK: 16-1200z
EGJB: 16-1200z
EGJJ: 16-1200z
LFOB: 16-1200z
LFOP: 16-1200z
LFPB: 16-1200z
LFPG: 16-1200z
LFPN: 16-1200z
LFPO: 16-1200z
LFPT: 16-1200z
LFPV: 16-1200z
LFQQ tma: 16-1200z
LFRG tma: 16-1200z
LFRM: 16-0000z
LFRW: 16-0000z
EDDN:16-1000Z-1200Z
EDDC: 16- 1200z
EDDE: 16- 1200z
EDDP: 16- 1200z
EDDM: 17-0000Z
For info, the following significant a/d are unavailable due to surrounding airspace closures.
Please note, this list is not exhaustive.
EDDB: 16-from 0000 to 1800z
EDDH: 16-from 0000 to 1800z
EDDK: 16-from 0000 to 1600z
EDDL: 16-from 0000 to 1600z
EDDT: 16-from 0000 to 1800z
EDDF: 16-from 0600 to 1600z
EPWA: 16-from 0800 to 1600z

LSZH NO DIVERSIONS AVAILABLE
SOURCE: Eurocontrol

There's now a ash cloud layer on RadarVirtuel (http://www.radarvirtuel.com/).
http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/654/29726802.png

In the news the said this might last over a year. And a nearby volcano might erupt as well. Fortunaterly there is good train network in Europe.

yes, because all the people taking flights in and out of the UK will fit through the chunnel. The European rail network won't be able to cope with such a huge increase in demand at all.

It's hard to work out what would be more environmentally damaging; the volcano or all the flights.

Schiphol Amsterdam Airport expects to go open tomorrow 6 am...but it depends how the ash cloud is going to develop...

I have the latest ash-data here now, made by the Norwegian Met. Service.

Only black ash is actual ash (which will stop air-traffic). Spread out black ash is so thin air traffic might resume.

Yellow and red is ash particles on the ground (air traffic can resume).

Time is GTM-1 (Oslo-Amsterdam-Rome time)

Friday 12.00
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/cityw/Other/Ash161a.jpg

Friday 18.00
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/cityw/Other/Ash162.jpg

Saturday 00.00
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/cityw/Other/Ash163.jpg

Saturday 06.00
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/cityw/Other/Ash164.jpg

Saturday 15.00
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/cityw/Other/Ash165.jpg

Saturday 21.00
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/cityw/Other/Ash166.jpg

Sunday 03.00
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/cityw/Other/Ash167.jpg

Sunday 09.00
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/cityw/Other/Ash168.jpg

Sunday 15.00
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/cityw/Other/Ash169.jpg

As expected, given the forecast, Bucharest FIR will start getting shut down tomorrow morning. Unless the forecast are way off, Sofia, Zagreb, Sarajevo, Milano FIRs and others will follow.

All flights are grounded as volcanic ash blankets UK

http://www.heraldscotland.com/polopoly_fs/8783321-1.1021023!image/752625696.JPG_gen/derivatives/landscape_300/752625696.JPG
Glasgow International Airport: where rows of check-in desks at Terminal 1 went unstaffed.

The first signs of disruption emerged in the early hours yesterday when ash from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano began to move towards the north of Scotland.

Soon, officials from airports across the country were being woken from their beds as crisis management teams prepared to react to the unprecedented decision to close the UK’s airspace.

Shortly after 4am, the three main airports in Scotland were closed and by mid-morning the sky above Britain had been turned into a no-fly zone.

At Glasgow International Airport, rows of check-in desks went unstaffed and the departure lounge left deserted.

Alison Curry, from Edinburgh, had been due to travel to from Glasgow to Crete to meet friends and enjoy a holiday in the sun with her husband.

The couple had arrived at 5am, only to be told to return home as no planes were boarding. But when they arrived back in Edinburgh, they phoned their tour operator and were told that people were still being checked in, so they returned to the airport, where they were told there were no flights leaving. Mrs Curry said: “We are just going to book into a hotel in Glasgow as we can’t face going back to Edinburgh again. Hopefully it’s sorted soon. We are shattered.”

Christine Campbell, 55, from Garelochhead, Argyll, who works at Faslane naval base, got to the airport at 5.30am for a flight at 6.45am in order to travel to La Rochelle in France for her son’s wedding.

Ms Campbell, who was planning to try to get a train to London and then travel to France by Eurostar, said: “When we arrived we were told there were no flights going out today and to go home. But I wanted to come and wait anyway because I didn’t want to miss anything. I’m really disappointed and upset because I’ve been looking forward to this wedding for two years and at the last minute there’s this hiccup.”

Isla Bisset, 22, had travelled from Thurso on Wednesday and stayed in a hotel overnight before her flight to Egypt yesterday morning. Ms Bisset, who is a member of cabin crew, returned to a hotel again for another night after her flight was cancelled. “It had to happen the day I was going on holiday,” she said. “A volcano erupted in Iceland and we are not flying out of Glasgow. It is really odd.”

Bode Banjoko, a student at Dundee University, was scheduled to fly home to New York to see his family. The 30-year-old, who is studying oil and gas management, said: “I had to take time off school and I have important family business to take care of, so my plans have really been disrup-ted. I’m just stuck now and trying to work out what to do next.”

On motorways near the airport, signs flashed to alert drivers of the closures while it was standing room only on cross-border trains and both Stagecoach and Virgin Trains laid on extra services to cope with the upsurge in demand, including a special late evening rail service from Glasgow Central station to London Euston.

Just as Glasgow International Airport emptied of passengers who had been due to travel, one flight landed. The Air Transat plane left Toronto at 5am UK time and touched down at 11am in “very exceptional circumstances”.

The flight was granted permission to land by air traffic controllers at Glasgow after arriving via Irish airspace.

It is understood that the aircraft travelled through transatlantic airspace from Canada before restrictions were imposed. It then entered Irish airspace and descended below the altitude which is controlled by the air traffic control service. A spokesman for Glasgow International Airport said: “The aircraft landed in very exceptional circumstances for reasons of passenger safety.”

Holidaymakers on the flight said they were stunned when they learned they were on the only plane arriving in Scotland, particularly because they could not see anything unusual from the windows of the plane.

Kaley Maxwell, 23, thought it was a joke when she discovered what had happened. “The weirdest part is that we were so completely oblivious to it all,” she said. “I just feel lucky to have got here. It could have taken us a couple of days to get back.”

Robert Russell, 53, from the south side of Glasgow, added: “Not a word was mentioned to us on the flight. We thought everything was normal.”

As airports counted the cost of the closure, aviation experts praised the decision by air traffic controllers to effect the biggest closure of UK airspace since the Second World War.

Although unprecedented in the UK, the action mirrors the concerns of aviation authorities around the world who regard the dangers posed by volcanic glass as one of the biggest threats to passenger safety that nature can throw up.

The tiny shards of glass thrown up by volcanic eruptions can reduce visibility for pilots, causing abrasions on the windows of the cockpit and clog up jet engines, causing them to fail.

Jim Ferguson, an aviation writer based in Aberdeen, said air traffic controllers had responded appropriately to a serious safety threat. “You cannot take the chance of losing an aircraft,” he said. “In 1982, a cloud of volcanic ash turned a British Airways Boeing 747 into the world’s biggest gl ider. It’s a miracle that there weren’t 200 deaths.”

Dr David Rothery, from the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the Open University, said: “This is not a dense cloud, and is unlikely to be noticed by people on the ground. However, air traffic restrictions have very properly been applied. If volcanic ash particles are ingested into a jet engine, they accumulate and clog the engines with molten glass.

“In 1982, British Airways and Singapore Airways jumbo jets lost all their engines when they flew into an ash cloud over Indonesia, and a KLM flight had a similar experience in 1989 over Alaska. On each occasion, the plane fell to within a few thousand feet of the ground before it was possible to restart the engines.”

As a result of these experiences emergency procedure manuals for pilots were changed, said Dr Rothery. “Previously, when engines began to fail the standard practice had been to increase power,” he said. “This just makes the ash problem worse. Nowadays, a pilot will throttle back and lose height so as to drop below the ash cloud as soon as possible.The inrush of cold, clean air is usually enough to shatter the glass and unclog the engines. Even so, the forward windows may have become so badly abraded by ash that they are useless, and the plane has to land on instruments.”

Meanwhile, one airline was taking off and landing normally. The seaplane that flies between Glasgow city centre and Oban ran its usual four flights and will be in operation today, because it does not fly at a high enough altitude to be affected by the dust clouds. We were able to put on four flights yesterday without any trouble at all,” said Captain David West.


The Impact
Glasgow International Airport was due to handle 320 flights and 28,300 passengers yesterday, but all services were cancelled.

Glasgow Prestwick Airport had to cancel all flights in and out yesterday –about 100 in total.

Both Glasgow Airports are starting to re-open now and as a result, allot of London bound traffic from the USA and Canada will be arriving in Glasgow tonight.

At the moment an extra 12 flights are bound for Glasgow, most from New York, others from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Icelandair's Reykjavik to London Heathrow and Manchester flights will both operate to Glasgow tonight, alongside Icelandair's scheduled Reykjavik to Glasgow flight.

Volcanic eruption of Icelandic volcano: Eyjafjallajokul.

Airspaces zero-rated until...
(aerodromes geographically located within these airspaces will be unavailable)
Belgium: 16-1800z
Denmark: 17-0000z
Estonia: 17-0000z
Finland: 17-0000z
France - Reims ACC: 17-0000z
France - Paris ACC: 17-0000z
France - Brest-north sectors: 1800z
Germany - Langen & Dusseldorf: 17-0000z
Germany - Karlsruhe: 17-0000z
Germany - Bremen: 17-0000z
Germany - Munich-north/east: 17-0000z
Germany - Frankfurt Airspace 17-0000z
Maastricht UAC: 16-1800z
Netherlands: 16-1600z
Norway ENBD limited availabilty/contact FMP for details
Poland north: 16-1800z
Poland south: 16-1800z
Ireland Shannon 16-1800z
Ireland Dublin: 16-1800z
Sweden: 17-0000z
United Kingdom excluding scotland : 16-2359z
Czech republic : 16-1100z
Bratislava : 17-0000z
Austria : from 16 - 1700z - 17 - 0000z
Romania : from 16 - 2100z - 17-0000z

AIRSPACE PLANNING TO REOPEN
please contact the FMP concerned for more information

-DUBLIN
-SHANNON NOT OPEN IN COORDINATION WITH UK MET OFFICE VAAC
-SCOTTISH HAS OPENED THE FOLLOWING SECTORS:
HEBRIDES - RATHLIN - ANTRIM - WEST

OPERATORS WISHING TO USE THESE AIRSPACES NO LONGER NEED TO COORDINATE WITH UK FMP

-Norway BD limited availabilty/contact FMP for details.

No IFR clearances will be issued that penetrate contaminated airspace.
Airborne aircraft planning to enter closed airspace should be prepared to divert to an alternate destination.

Dublin Airport open for flights

Dublin Airport has joined Cork and Shannon in being declared safe for some flights today.

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) announced that as a result of the ash cloud continuing to move away from the south east, it is lifting restrictions within Irish airspace except for a block off the south coast of Ireland.

This effectively means that Dublin Shannon and Cork Airports will be open for flights.

"While our State airports have had the restriction lifted, the situation is still very serious throughout Europe," said the IAA.

"The majority of airspace and airports in the UK, France and Germany continue to have restrictions in place. The weather maps show the volcanic ash cloud hanging over England and Wales and most of mainland Europe.

"So there will continue to be restrictions in those countries for at least the next 24 hours. This will mean that there will continue to be serious disruption for east bound and south bound traffic out of Irish airports.

"We are concerned that the volcano continues to be very active and we cannot rule out further restrictions if the weather patterns change and the ash cloud returns to Ireland."

Passengers should keep in touch with their airlines on a regular basis for updates.

The IAA will provide an update after 2pm today.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/dublin-airport-open-for-flights-454123.html

and this is what started it all ... Eyjafjallajökull (1666m). Not much happening here in March 2006. Photo taken from the Sólheimajökull, a glacier which strides the edge of the Katla, a neighbouring deep sub-glacial volcano.
http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/2798/iceland02eyjafjallajkul.jpg
http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/2028/iceland01eyjafjallajkul.jpg

See more Iceland air photos in this post (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=55354529&postcount=74)

Air passengers arrive at Glasgow

Relieved passengers began arriving in the UK from Iceland on Friday as jets were given permission to land at Glasgow Airport.

Two Icelandair flights touched down just after 5pm and a third was landing later.

The three flights will mean around 600 UK passengers whose return flights from Iceland were cancelled due to the volcanic ash plume can get back home, according to the airline.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5iDZAfAjy6IA1N9fSuB2YwhgKRDNg

Can't planes fly really low to avoid the ash? Granted it'll eat up a lot of fuel, but it's surely better than not flying at all. Anyone knows why this is not an option? Secondly, I was reading that props don't suffer this bad from volcanic ash and can fly in this weather. So do any airlines have plans of getting a few props (from other airlines) to at least have a few flights?

^^Flying at low altitude at high speed puts the fuselage under tremendous pressure.

Apparently, better news coming from Scandinavia.

Sweden, Norway gradually reopen airspace

Airspace over Sweden and Norway was gradually reopening Friday, but Denmark's and Finland's remained closed because of the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland, officials said.

On Thursday, Sweden and several other northern European countries closed their airspace.

On Friday, the civil aviation authority in Stockholm said Swedish airspace "is now reopening step by step." It said flights will resume in northern Sweden, with restrictions being lifted throughout the country gradually.

Norwegian airport operator Avinor reopened airspace over the northern half of Norway's west coast at 0700 GMT.
However, Stockholm's Arlanda Airport and Oslo's Gardermoen Airport remained closed Friday morning.

In Denmark, aviation officials said the airspace will stay closed at least through 0600 GMT Saturday.

Finland, which closed its airspace early Friday, said it would extend the measure to Sunday afternoon instead of Saturday, as earlier planned. Finnish airports operator Finavia Corp. said it expects the volcanic ash plume to remain over the country for several days.

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9F47MMO0.htm

^^

dont hold your breath, the last time Eyjafjallajökull erupted in 1821 it lasted 2 years!

Maybe buy some shares in trans-atlantic passenger ship liners i think...

^^ true, as mentioned in other threads, ash returned and closed all airports in Norway again (and it was only a few north of Trondheim that was open for a few hours).

This is latest status on Iceland, eruption ongoing as strong and stronger as before. More ash, and its heading for N. Europe.
(image 30min old)
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/cityw/Other/Plume16th2159.jpg

http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/6020/phpmrukrb.jpg

A small number of flights starting to arrive in Glasgow. As far as I know, Glasgow is still the only UK airport open.

The following flights are operating, everything else is still cancelled.

19:35 VIK460 TENERIFE DELAYED
21:15 AEU601 REYKJAVIK LANDED 2217
21:45 BE6812 ISLE OF MAN LANDED 2122
22:00 FI435 REYKJAVIK AIRBORNE 2210
23:00 TCX64L BARBADOS EXPECTED 2335
00:30 TCX641P PUNTA CANA
03:00 AEU602 REYKJAVIK
07:00 TCX367K TENERIFE DELAYED
07:00 TCX659K PALMA DELAYED
07:05 BA1474 NEW YORK JFK
07:05 BA174 NEW YORK JFK
07:05 EZY6823 BERLIN
07:30 CO016 NEWARK NYC
07:35 EZY6859 MALAGA
08:00 EI3220 DUBLIN
09:00 CO017 NEWARK NYC
09:30 EZY6835 GENEVA
09:50 VS072 ORLANDO INTL

Amsterdam Airport will probably serve flights again from 11-12 am CEST, saturday.

All I can say is wow, this sucks for them!
http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/6020/phpmrukrb.jpg


Haha....nice :)

-SCOTTISH HAS OPENED THE FOLLOWING SECTORS:
HEBRIDES - RATHLIN - ANTRIM - WEST

^^ I don't get that bit. Rathlin and Antrim are both in Northern Ireland, not Scotland.

Apparently Both Belfast airports and Dublin, Cork and Shannon will all be opening very soon. I don't see the point though, as judging by the map, Ireland hasn't even overcome the worst of the plume yet. I never thought I'd see the day that so many important European airports were closed. I think the only big ones currently open are Madrid, Barcelona and Athens. Not sure though.

BBC NI news article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8624546.stm

Disruption of air traffic at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Due to large visitor numbers in connection with the serious disruption of air traffic (caused by a
volcanic eruption on Iceland) we are presenting this website in a different manner than usual.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Serious disruption of air traffic to and from the Netherlands
Forecast: no air traffic will be possible to and from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol until at least
Saturday 14:00 hrs. Unfortunately we do not know at present when air traffic will be resumed.

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and the airlines are asking passengers not to come to the airport,
but to contact their airline tomorrow morning first and stay tuned for further developments to find
out whether their flight is scheduled to depart.

Passengers are strongly advised to stay tuned for further developments and to contact their airline before
proceeding to the airport.
schiphol airport website

A small number of flights starting to arrive in Glasgow. As far as I know, Glasgow is still the only UK airport open.

The following flights are operating, everything else is still cancelled.

19:35 VIK460 TENERIFE DELAYED
21:15 AEU601 REYKJAVIK LANDED 2217
21:45 BE6812 ISLE OF MAN LANDED 2122
22:00 FI435 REYKJAVIK AIRBORNE 2210
23:00 TCX64L BARBADOS EXPECTED 2335
00:30 TCX641P PUNTA CANA
03:00 AEU602 REYKJAVIK
07:00 TCX367K TENERIFE DELAYED
07:00 TCX659K PALMA DELAYED
07:05 BA1474 NEW YORK JFK
07:05 BA174 NEW YORK JFK
07:05 EZY6823 BERLIN
07:30 CO016 NEWARK NYC
07:35 EZY6859 MALAGA
08:00 EI3220 DUBLIN
09:00 CO017 NEWARK NYC
09:30 EZY6835 GENEVA
09:50 VS072 ORLANDO INTL
Do you know why there are a few flights allowed, but the rest canceled*? Are these props?

*unlike inclement weather, ash doesn't have a 'window' in which one might operate.

Oh sorry, they can't be props, just read the to/from airports.

The only weird location in that list is Berlin, that must be a fun detour via the south of France.

^^ I don't get that bit. Rathlin and Antrim are both in Northern Ireland, not Scotland.
UK's airspace is split between two ACCs (Area Control Centers): Scottish ACC in Prestwick and London ACC in Swanwick. Each of these ACCs' airspace is further split into sectors. Rathlin and Antrim are just two sectors in Scottish ACC.

Here's an overview of Scottish airspace...
http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/1056/egenr6202en20100311.jpg

Volcanic eruption of Icelandic volcano: Eyjafjallajokul.

Today (17-April) the ash cloud is extending.

Airspaces zero-rated/closed until:
(Aerodromes geographically located within these airspaces will be unavailable):

Austria : 17-1200
Belgium: 17-1800
Croatia: 17-1200
Czech Republic: 17-1000
Denmark: 17-2359
Estonia Talinn: 17-2359
Finland: 18-1200
France - Brest: 17-1200
France - Bordeaux: Sectors P and T 17-1200
France - Paris: 17-1200
France - Reims: 17-0600
France -Marseille: Sectors GY and MY 17-1200
France -Marseille: Sectors W 1+217-1800
Germany - Bremen: 17-1200
Germany - Frankfurt: 17-1200
Germany - Karlsruhe UIR: 17-1200, Available FL355+
Germany - Langen & Dusseldorf: 17-1200
Germany - Munich: 17-1200
Hungary: 17-1700
Ireland - Shannon: South sectors 17-1200
Ireland - Dublin: 17-1800
Italy - Milano - 17-1200
Italy - Roma (only Upper airspace above Milano (MEW sector))
Italy - Padua: 17-1200
Maastricht UAC: Available FL355+
Netherlands: 17-1800
Norway ENBD South: 17-1200. North open until at least 17-0600
Poland: 17-1400
Romania : 17-2100. MOPUG 0300-2100, BACAU 0300-2100
Scotland: 17-2359
Slovac Republic: 17-0600
Slovenia: 17-0400-18-0000
Shannon NOTA: 17-1800
Sweden Stockholm 17-1800
Sweden Malmo 17-1800
Swiss Zurich: 17-1800. Available FL355+
Swiss Geneva: 17-1200
Ukraine Kiev: 17-1200
UKBV airspace 17-1200
United Kingdom: 17-2359

Please note, these lists are not exhaustive.


AIRSPACE OPEN
please contact the FMP concerned for more information

-Dublin North until 17-0600
-Norway Bodo North open until at least 17-0600 -Italy, Karlsruhe and Maastricht above FL355

No IFR clearances will be issued that penetrate contaminated airspace.
Airborne aircraft planning to enter closed airspace should be prepared to divert to an alternate destination.

http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/7093/62333770.png

Just reporting from the website of Milan airports that the closure in MXP and LIN has been extended ultill 2000hrs local time today (saturday).

The Dutch airspace will be closed til midnight 12 pm saturday...

Do you know why there are a few flights allowed, but the rest canceled*? Are these props?

*unlike inclement weather, ash doesn't have a 'window' in which one might operate.

We did have a "window" for a period of around 7 hours where a number of flights were able to arrive, however nothing departed. Obviously Europe was still a no-fly zone at this point, so the only flights that got in were mainly transatlantic and Irish flights, basically all flights coming from the west.

The "window" has since passed and both Glasgow Airport's are again shut.

That's interesting to know. Maybe it's got to do with wind direction or something. My brother's supposed to fly from Heathrow on the 19th, so he checked and they said the airport will be operation from morning.

That's interesting to know. Maybe it's got to do with wind direction or something. My brother's supposed to fly from Heathrow on the 19th, so he checked and they said the airport will be operation from morning.

Tell your brother not to hold his breath on that. Here in Italy the closure was extended to all the weekend in a matter of hours, so I'd say there is no certainty that skyes will reopen that day.

Flight ban in Germany is extended to 1400 Sunday. Planned opening was on 0800. Read from newspaper.

I was watching this flight live (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=55408307&postcount=185) earlier and had high hopes. Sounds like good news...
KLM test flight passes off without problem

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines carried out a test flight this evening between about 19.45 and 21:00 hours CEST in Netherlands airspace using a Boeing 737-800. The flight was carried out to establish whether air quality in the atmosphere meets the requirements for safe flight. No problems were encountered during the flight.

The aircraft was transferred to a hangar on landing where it underwent a thorough inspection. The results have been reported to the Transport and Water Management Inspectorate. The Inspectorate will take the decision on whether flight operations are possible.

KLM President & CEO, Peter Hartman, said: "At first glance there is no reason to suspect that anything is amiss. We observed no irregularities either during the flight or during the initial inspection on the ground. If the results of the technical inspection confirm this impression, we are ready to start by returning seven of our aircraft to Amsterdam from Düsseldorf. We hope to receive permission as soon as possible after that to start up our operation and to transport our passengers to their destinations." KLM Executive Vice-President Operations, Ype de Haan, was also on board the flight with Peter Hartman as an observer.

The aircraft flew to 41,000 feet (altitude of approximately 13 kilometres), which is the maximum altitude for this type of aircraft. KLM expects to receive the final results of the technical inspection tomorrow morning.
Source: KLM.com

:applause:

Quote of the day (for air travellers in Europe):

"If you want to make God laugh tell him your plans" - Woody Allen

http://www.aviation-weblog.com/50226711/the_eyjafjallajokull_volcano_shuts_down_european_transport_system.php

I was watching this flight live (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=55408307&postcount=185) earlier and had high hopes. Sounds like good news...

Source: KLM.com

:applause:

They should just allow inner european flights. Lufthansa also relocated some planes without passengers from Munich to Frankfurt to have them in the right position once the flight ban is lifted. They flew at 3000m and no problems.

Just let them fly at lower altitude.

This is insane
I wonder when this volcano will stop ?

They should just allow inner european flights. Lufthansa also relocated some planes without passengers from Munich to Frankfurt to have them in the right position once the flight ban is lifted. They flew at 3000m and no problems.

Just let them fly at lower altitude.
I hope that is the ultimate solution! But 3000 m is quite low and they'll burn so much more fuel!

They should just allow inner european flights.

What is the point?


The Frenches to Germany and vice versa?

That never works. :)


Even the likes of Scandinavia and Regional Italy cannot accept each other.

Because it's just nonsensical, preventing the views.

I'm reporting from Milan, where our airports are in the second day of closure.
The weather is clouded, and it has been raining since yesterday afternoon.
This morning I went out with my car and on the windshield there were no trace of ash whatsoever, the water was cristal clear. According to the maps, ashes now should cover the northern half of Italy.

Swiss Airspace is close until Monday 14pm.

Swiss cancel another 380 Flights for Monday.

Ash update, this is the next 48 hours. Remember, its the black ash that is dangerous, not the red and yellow.

Sunday (today), 18.00 GMT+1 (Oslo, Amsterdam, Rome)
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/cityw/Other/AshSpread18-201x.jpg

Monday, 00.00 GMT+1 (Oslo, Amsterdam, Rome)
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/cityw/Other/AshSpread18-202x.jpg

Monday, 06.00 GMT+1 (Oslo, Amsterdam, Rome)
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/cityw/Other/AshSpread18-203x.jpg

Monday, 12.00 GMT+1 (Oslo, Amsterdam, Rome)
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/cityw/Other/AshSpread18-204x.jpg

Monday, 18.00 GMT+1 (Oslo, Amsterdam, Rome)
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/cityw/Other/AshSpread18-205x.jpg

Tuesday, 00.00 GMT+1 (Oslo, Amsterdam, Rome)
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/cityw/Other/AshSpread18-206x.jpg

Tuesday, 06.00 GMT+1 (Oslo, Amsterdam, Rome)
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/cityw/Other/AshSpread18-207x.jpg

Tuesday, 12.00 GMT+1 (Oslo, Amsterdam, Rome)
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/cityw/Other/AshSpread18-208x.jpg

Tuesday, 18.00 GMT+1 (Oslo, Amsterdam, Rome)
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/cityw/Other/AshSpread18-209x.jpg

My sister planned to come from Tehran,Iran to Germany, cologne this morning but her flight was also cancelled like other 25 european flights today from and to europe to Tehran...I think the next days would be very bussy for all aviation companies in the world :)

This is insane
I wonder when this volcano will stop ?

Last time the eruption lasted 2 years and a bigger volcano next to this one named Katla also erupted. But that doesn't mean we can't fly for 2 years of course. No one knows exactly how long this eruption is going to take this time and when the winds are good, the ash shouldn't be a problem for Europe. It is possible however that we have a disrupted airspace for months, with some days were you can fly and some days you can't. (depending on the wind and the amount of ash coming from the volcano)

NATS: All UK flights suspended until at least 07:00 on Monday. Next udpate from NATS at 2100 this evening. Check with your airline for advice and updates.

European airlines send up test flights despite ash

Several major airlines safely flew test flights without passengers over Europe on Sunday despite official warnings about the dangers of a volcanic ash plume, fueling a corporate push to end an economically devastating ban on commercial air traffic.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines said that by midday Sunday it had flown four planes through what it described as a gap in the layer of microscopic dust over Holland and Germany. The ash began spewing from an Icelandic volcano Wednesday and has drifted across most of Europe, shutting down airports as far south and east as Bulgaria.

Air France, Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines have also sent up test flights, although most traveled below the altitudes where the ash has been heavily concentrated.

KLM said its planes of various types flew the 115-mile (185-km) flight from Duesseldorf in western Germany to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport at an unspecified normal altitude above 10,000 feet (3,000 meters). They did not encounter the thick though invisible cloud of ash, whose main band has floated from 20,000 to 32,000 feet, the height of most commercial flight paths.

The announcement prompted some airline officials to wonder whether authorities had overreacted to concerns that the tiny particles of volcanic ash could jam up the engines of passenger jets. The possibility that the ash had thinned or dispersed over parts of Europe heightened pressure from airline officials losing hundreds of millions of dollars a day to end a flight stoppage that has thrown global travel into chaos and left millions stranded far from home.

"With the weather we are encountering now — clear blue skies and obviously no dense ash cloud to be seen, in our opinion there is absolutely no reason to worry about resuming flights," said Steven Verhagen, vice president of the Dutch Airline Pilots Association and a Boeing 737 pilot for KLM.

"We are asking the authorities to really have a good look at the situation, because 100 percent safety does not exist," Verhagen said. "It's easy to close down air space because then it's perfectly safe. But at some time you have to resume flights."

...

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jh7lQ-qBxQMPzPd3Iap7_s3YDBfQD9F5HVS80

BREAKING NEWS: Spanish Airports Reopened, The Volcanic Ash Cloud Is Moving North

Spanish Airports and Air Navigation (Aena) has lifted all restrictions since 14:30 GMT at airports that were closed because the situation forecasts indicate that the volcanic ash cloud plume away from the peninsula.

In particular, the Aena airports remained closed for security reasons, were those of Barcelona, Gerona, Reus, Sabadell, Asturias, Santander, Bilbao, San Sebastian, Vitoria, Pamplona, Logroño, two of Palma de Mallorca, Menorca, Zaragoza and Huesca.

From 19:30 GMT today the airport in Lleida, which is not in the Aena network, although possibly reopen in light of the new forecast. This decision was taken in coordination with Eurocontrol and in view of predictions of the Volcano Ash Warning Center in London, which has changed the map of the location of the ash cloud, which in the next hours will be further north initially expected.

Some airlines have begun to make test flights without passengers, flying below the ash cloud. KLM and Lufthansa have been flying their aircraft in Germany with satisfactory results and no damage has occurred.

The authorities have insisted that the huge cloud of ash, which remains in the upper atmosphere is not dangerous to health. Only in areas very close to the Icelandic volcano or in the event that this material will settle to the earth’s surface could cause discomfort, but that is something that has not occurred.

In the absence of air transport, people needing to cover large distances has been used by other modes of transport. Trains and buses run full in Europe and even paid careers of thousands of euros in taxi to get to destinations more than 2,000 kilometers.

http://www.providingnews.com/breaking-news-spanish-airport-reopened-the-volcanic-ash-cloud-is-moving-north.html

Jet2 are now bussing passengers from Spain to the United Kingdom. I'm surprised Thomas Cook and Thomson Airways are not doing the same.

http://www.jet2.com/Content/EN/homepage/images/homepage.gif

British Airways have a Boeing 747-400 in the air over the UK right now. The aircraft, G-CIVC, will fly at 30,000ft for 2.5 hours before landing at Cardiff Airport in Wales where maintenance checks will be carried out.

^^Yes.

British Airways to make test flight

LONDON: British Airways plans a test flight to gauge the impact of the volcanic ash cloud on flight safety.

The airline says the Sunday night flight will leave London's Heathrow Airport before traveling over the Atlantic and then returning to a maintenance base in Wales to check for damage.

It is in advance of a videoconference set for Monday by European transport officials to discuss the crisis caused by the spreading ash cloud.

British officials said Sunday that UK airspace would be closed until at least 7 a.m. London time (2 a.m. EDT) Monday.

Most British airlines including budget carriers have canceled flights scheduled for Monday.

British transport officials say they are urgently trying to find safe paths that could allow some flights to resume.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/British-Airways-to-make-test-flight/articleshow/5829225.cms

2 KLM Cargo Boeing 747s left Schiphol for the UAE and Bangkok around 8 PM local time, I guess they will go ahead with more flights tomorrow if these 2 arrive safely.

2 KLM Cargo Boeing 747s left Schiphol for the UAE and Bangkok around 8 PM local time, I guess they will go ahead with more flights tomorrow if these 2 arrive safely.

So they are sending some planes to see if the path is safe or not. Isn't that the same as gambling, gambling with safety? Just after the eruption when the first airports was closed they made it perfectly clear they don't gamble with safety, and won't fly again until they are 100% sure it is 100% safe to fly.

KLM Dispatches Three Freight Flights To Test Safety

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/9784/25984392070561.jpg

Dutch carrier KLM has dispatched three cargo flights, two to Sharjah and one to Bangkok. The intention is to test on an actual route the risk to aircraft operating in European airspace.

The move comes after Lufthansa, KLM and British Airways have all carried out test flights throughout the day to examine whether their aircraft engines show signs of damage from flying in the ash cloud from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano. Both KLM and Lufthansa have so far stated that these flights showed no cause for concern.

Pressure has been mounting through the day from the airline industry for the EU authorities to reassess the danger of flying in volcanic ash, which they say are overly strict in comparison to other areas of the world where these conditions would not be an issue and which aircraft routinely operate in. Should the freight flights prove to have no problems it will be an extra argument for the airlines to resume operations.

However, there is still no guarantee that passenger flights will be allowed to operate in the near future, and governments are now examining how to bring citizens home from around the world, with the British examining the possibility of using the Royal Navy to ferry people from Spain or France.

http://www.handyshippingguide.com/shipping-news/klm-dispatches-three-freight-flights-to-test-safety_1594

Eurocontrol lifts aviation ban; 50% of flights to resume

Aviation safety authorities in Europe have lifted bans on flying as fears of the effects of volcanic ash clouds dissipate.

An urgent meeting of Eurocontrol, the European air safety body, has just agreed to lift restrictions in areas where the ash cloud is having no effects.

"The forecast is that there will be half of flights possibly operating tomorrow [Monday],” Spain's secretary of state for EU affairs Diego Lopez Garrido told reporters after the meeting.

The decision comes after EU presidency country Spain pushed for a rapid re-opening of air routes where there is no danger.

Spain reopened all its 17 airports that were temporarily closed after the ash cloud moved away. By contrast, most of Europe remained a virtual no-fly zone, with about 30 countries closing or restricting airspace.

Spanish Transport Minister Jose Blanco has offered all airlines use of its airports for stopovers in Europe.

"Spain is offering the use of some Spanish airports as a intercontinental platform," he said, adding that flights from other continents could land in Spain from where passengers could make their way to other destinations in Europe by road or rail.

Airlines that have lost hundreds of millions of dollars by the grounding say test flights over the weekend showed no problems.

The suspension of most flights in northern Europe have affected some six million travellers around the world and brought chaos to over-crowded ground transport.

It also stopped air cargo operations, with a major impact on perishables such as fruit, vegeatables and flowers.

EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas said after the Eurocontrol meeting he hoped that 50% of European airspace would be risk free on Monday.

He said the current situation was "not sustainable" and European authorities were working to find a solution that did not compromise safety.

"We cannot wait until the ash flows just disappear," he said.

http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/eurocontrol-lifts-aviation-ban-50-flights-resume-121690

http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/before/operation/index.html

Ash cloud may be spreading to Newfoundland.

Just think of how much money is being lost everyday.

Here in Milan the airports opened 20 minutes ago. The first flights are running.

Italian airspace been closed again at 9.00am local time untill 8.00am local time tomorrow Tuesday 20th.
So planes could fly for just two hours.

Here's the situation of European airspace now. As you can see some sectors have been opened. In fact, Scandinavia looks pretty good atm, Poland's clear, Southern France more open than yesterday, the Balkans are ok, part of Vienna FIR's open and sector MOPUG, in the West of Romania (Bucharest FIR) is open.

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/5752/nowh.jpg

And here's the anticipated situation 4 hours from now.
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/9893/now4.jpg

Note: these maps come from the ATFCM Network Situation display that normally display delays in each sector of airspace, but I asked Eurocontrol and they indeed use it to display closed airspace now, since it's an exceptional situation. After the crisis will be over, they'll return to simply displaying delays.

Just think of how much money is being lost everyday.

Think about how much CO2 was saved.

Volcano makes only 15,000 t CO2 per day.
European planes makes 350,000 t CO2 per day.

All european railways earn now extra money.

We could have already european high speed railway network for speed 320 - 350 km/h We have to bulid it. Germany have know-how about Maglev 500 km/h+ technology and we cold have rail travel as fast as plane travel.

New reports shows that some engines are indeed damaged due to the ash...

NATO: F-16 fighters damaged by volcanic ash (Associated Press) http://bit.ly/cD6cFS


Official said NATO plane damage is "very serious matter", "airspace closed for a reason" http://cot.ag/bKo4nW

Meanwhile the Volcano has been very quiet last hours with almost no new ash.

http://www.spacy.me/forum/vulkaan.jpg
source (http://eldgos.mila.is/eyjafjallajokull-fra-thorolfsfelli/)

But underground activity around it and around Katla is increasing:

http://www.spacy.me/forum/katla2.jpg
source (http://hraun.vedur.is/ja/Katla2009/stodvaplott.html)

Well, we all knew what volcanic ash can do in 1982. It's not a matter of whether the science is doubtful, but whether the airlines can accept the risk and still send planes into the air.

FACTBOX-Industry impact on day 5 of volcano disruption
19 April 2010
Reuters

Airline industry group IATA called for steps to reopen European airspace shut down by a volcanic ash cloud as the disruption entered a fifth day..

Below are some of the effects on industries ranging from fish through car rental to electronics.

FISH/GROCERIES/RESTAURANTS

The world's largest fish farmer, Norway's Marine Harvest, said it would reduce salmon harvest volumes from Monday and that salmon exports to Asia and North America had been hit. Iceland's trade council said some fresh fish supplies were being fed into frozen fish supplies but most of Iceland's fish exports are sea-based and so unaffected.

Peter Grundhoefer, a top fruit and vegetables wholesaler in Frankfurt, said: "This affects all of us in the fruits business. We will lack beans and chillies from Egypt and fresh herbs from Israel ... (and) exotic fruits like mango, kumquats and physalis once stocks have been used up in the next one or two days."

Thomas Kosmidis, a manager at Frankfurt fish and delicacy restaurant supplier Venos, said: "We are running short of tuna from the Indian Ocean, Victoria perch from Africa, basil from Cyprus and other fresh herbs from Israel, lobster from Canada and green asparagus from California."

Germany's Deutsche See, which says it is the country's biggest seller of fish and seafood, said there was no bottleneck in fish supplies.

"Fish comes to Bremerhaven mostly by ship and truck and is then transported to our 23 Deutsche See sites within Germany by truck. Only small amounts of mostly exotic fish and seafood is imported by plane."

Barbara Hennings, who works at Frankfurt sushi restaurant Iroha, said exotic vegetables were a bigger problem than fish.

"So far we're not experiencing any supply bottlenecks and we're not having to take dishes off the menu." She said tuna supplies came frozen once a month from Spain so there was no impact there. "But we import several vegetables from Japan, such as shiitake mushrooms, and we also get our yellowfish from Japan. Here we have some problems...but the majority of our fish we get from within Europe via road."

Kenya's horticulture industry is losing $3 million a day and it will take several weeks to recover even if flights resume now, its association of exporters said.

Colruyt, the Belgian discount supermarket chain, said sales of cut flowers such as roses from Kenya and fresh fish from Iceland came to a standstill on Saturday.

LOGISTICS

Dutch mail group TNT said it had switched to road transport in Europe and was incurring higher costs.

"TNT's air network is mainly a European network. Within Europe we have a very strong road network that covers 39 countries, which means for most of the freight we have been able to move it by truck," said spokesman Cyrille Gibot.

Anita Gupta, Asia Pacific spokeswoman for rival DHL in Singapore, said the group had "increased its trucking capacity to minimize delays for shipments within Europe. A three- to five-day delay is expected for shipments moving between Europe and the rest of the world."

TELECONFERENCING

Cisco Systems Inc said companies were turning to videoconferencing to connect executives stranded by the flight ban in parts of Europe.

"The only evidence is anecdotal, but you will not get a demo room in any of the Cisco facilities," said Fredrik Halvorsen, former CEO of Tandberg and head of the group's TelePresence Technology Group. "We have seen a huge spike in usage."

HOTELS/TOURISM/CAR RENTAL

"Many hotels have been booked out since Friday, said Petra Winter, a spokeswoman for the tourism office in Frankfurt, Germany. Of 140 hotels with a total of over 34,000 beds in Frankfurt, only 20 still have vacancies.

Car rental companies have been hit by a surge in demand as travellers try to find substitutes for flights.

"We are buying new cars for this" by taking on sooner than planned cars that the company has already agreed to buy, a spokeswoman for Europcar in Hamburg said.

Rival Sixt is keeping cars in its fleet for more than the usual six months and recovering vehicles that have already been moved to used-car dealerships.

ELECTRONICS

Japans's Fujitsu Ltd said its notebook PC shipments to Europe have been halted temporarily due to disruptions in European air traffic. It said there was enough inventory in the region to ensure no earnings impact at the moment. Sony Corp, Sharp Corp, Hitachi Ltd and Panasonic Corp said they were experiencing no impact.

In Seoul, Kim Seong-bong, market analyst at Samsung Securities, said: "If the stoppage of flight services in Europe ...lasts more than a couple of weeks, it will be negative to technology exporters."

PHARMACEUTICALS

Officials said thanks to buffer stocks meant there should not be any immediate drug supply problems.

"We're comfortable that there is no threat to the supply of medicines to patients at this point in time," said Sarah Lindgreen, a spokeswoman for Anglo-Swedish group AstraZeneca.

AIRLINES/AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL

Giovanni Bisignani, head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) airline industry body, estimated airline revenue losses were now reaching $250 million a day, up from an estimate of $200 million on Friday.

IATA said the economic impact on airlines would be greater than after the 2001 Sept. 11 attacks.

The global Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) said the air traffic control sector was losing up to 25 million euros ($35 million) a day due to the closure of European airspace and warned of a significant impact on future investment decisions.

Some airlines in Europe are not going to be in business in the next week or two due to the volcanic ash cloud that has affected European air travel, the Association of European Airlines said.

British airlines and travel companies are losing tens of millions of pounds a day from Europe's airspace paralysis, increasing the pressure on officials to give the all-clear for planes to fly again.

ASH ALERT - Glasgow flights to resume

Fight restrictions due to volcanic ash will be lifted in the morning (Tuesday) from Glasgow airports.

Services will be able to operate south to a line between Teesside and Blackpool from 07.00.

The instruction came from Natioanl Air Traffic Services, which said the Icelandic eruption had reduced with the volcano not emitting ash to altitudes that will affect the UK.

"Assuming there are no further sifnificant ash emissions we are now looking at a continuously improving situation," NATS said.

It added that while there was a changing situation, the latest Met Office advice is that the contampination area will continue to move south.

This gives the possibility that airspace restrictions above England and Wales - including the London area - maybe lifted later tomorrow, NATS added.

"It is now for airports and airlines to decide how best to utilise this opportunity," NATS said. "Passengers should contact their airlines to find out how this will affect their travel plans."

A further NATS update is due to be given at 21.00 tonight.

I hope any residual ash won't screw up airplane engines in the long run. This ash cloud seems to have caused a serious mess.

Revised approach to air traffic affected by the volcanic ash cloud

Brussels, Belgium – EUROCONTROL hosted a telephone conference earlier today between the European Commission, several European States, Air Navigation Service Providers and technical experts.

The conference concluded that, while the initial reaction by the States was prudent and reduced risk to an absolute minimum, it was now time to move towards a harmonized European approach (set out below) that permitted flights – but only where safety was not compromised.

This conclusion was submitted to the meeting of European Transport Ministers this afternoon and was adopted.

Accordingly a limited “No-fly zone” will be established by the States concerned, based on forecasts from the VAAC. EUROCONTROL will provide the data and the forecast to States every 6 hours.

Aircraft Operators will be permitted to operate outside this zone. In their decision as to whether to fly, they will be supported by shared data including advice from the scientific community (meteo, volcanic ash proliferation etc.) – including safety assessments supported by tests
under the oversight of the competent Safety Authorities.

Member States have been asked to formally confirm their agreement. Meanwhile EUROCONTROL will start the provisional application of this approach.

In addition the ICAO European and North Atlantic Office are organising a meeting to consider the effects on the North Atlantic Region.

These actions will be implemented as soon as possible and, in any case, by 06:00 UTC tomorrow morning.

The conference also concluded that, in time, it should be possible to move towards an approach in which full discretion is given to Aircraft Operators.

http://www.eurocontrol.int/corporate/gallery/content/public/docs/pdf/pressreleases/2010/PressRelease_Revisedapproach.pdf

http://wover.be/images/SSC/testflight/test_flight.png

Test flight in Holland apparently :)

^^It's a Dornier 228 of the Dutch Coast Guard.:) Btw, KLM started service between AMS and JFK, DXB and PVG; aircraft already departed.

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/3209/1631588.jpg
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Kustwacht---Netherlands/Dornier-228-212/1631588/L/

Despite Glasgow being open from 0700 (UK time) tomorrow morning, most flights are still cancelled. The following appear to be the only flights operating tomorrow morning; everything else is listed as cancelled.


07:00 BE6820 STORNOWAY
07:50 W6415 WARSAW
08:00 EI3220 DUBLIN
08:15W6416 WARSAW
08:20 BE782 BIRMINGHAM
08:25 BE880 SOUTHAMPTON
08:25 EI3221 DUBLIN
08:30 BE6921 ISLAY
08:55 BE6843 CAMPBELTOWN
09:15 BA296 CHICAGO
09:00 EZY785 GATWICK
10:15 BA212 BOSTON

As airlines announces their operations resume, the question about how to deal with stranded passengers remain. Unlike more regular disruptive catastrophes like terrorism, political unrest or so - all causing significant flight disruption -, the Icelandic volcano eruption will not induce much travel planning change. Everything is pretty normal on the ground, be it for business, leisure or family visits.

The usual practice of clearing such air passengers backlog is:

1. Board as many passengers as possible in their original flights. If operations are fully resumed Wednesday, passengers with tickets for Wednesday have nothing much above the usual to worry about.

2. Board passengers which are away from home, and/or in the middle of a connection trip that got disrupted.

3. Board passengers stranded in their origin points, giving priority to critical ones like unaccompanied minors.

This industry policy make sense, practically and financially: it is better not to increase the number of disrupted journeys. In addition, while passengers stranded by a volcano are not entitled to additional compensation for the eruption is an Act of God, bumping out regular passengers scheduled after operations are normal to make room for stranded ones would entitle the formers to receive hefty compensation.

I'm just wondering that we are going to see some particularly gruesome and complaints over the next days, like families claiming that is unjust passengers scheduled to flight Apr. 22th are taking off and they are being left without assistance on London for their 12th consecutive day and so on. I do think some full service airlines will offer buyouts for some regular scheduled passengers so they can accommodate more stranded passengers more quickly. And I read in a somehow influential blog in my country that "EU should step in and order airlines not to transport anyone who is in the comfort of his home and city before stranded passengers are taken to their destinations" :ohno:

Ash crisis now worse than 9/11 - airlines
April 20, 2010 7:39am

THE global air travel industry is losing 200 million euros ($292 million) a day because of the volcanic ash cloud covering Europe and says the crisis is now "greater than September 11".

Qantas hasn't been spared from the economic pain, revealing it was losing $1.5 million a day due to the Europe travel ban.

The airline estimated that more than 12,500 of its customers had been affected so far and it had accommodated more than 2000 passengers in hotels across the world. It has cancelled all flights to Europe until at least noon tomorrow.

The eruption of the Eyjafjoell volcano last Wednesday has stranded millions of air travellers across the world, with the enormous shroud of fine mineral dust particles now stretching from the Arctic Circle to the French Mediterranean coast, and from Spain into Russia.

The peak body of the airline industry is now urging governments to reopen routes through the volcanic ash cloud.

Source (http://www.news.com.au/business/ash-to-cost-airlines-more-than-911/story-e6frfm1i-1225855761695)

Well this is different! :) Shame the vast majority of flights are still cancelled.

07:00 BE6820 STORNOWAY ON TIME
07:50 W6415 WARSAW ON TIME
08:00 EI3220 DUBLIN ON TIME
08:15W6416 WARSAW ON TIME
08:20 BE782 BIRMINGHAM ON TIME
08:25 BE880 SOUTHAMPTON ON TIME
08:25 EI3221 DUBLIN ON TIME
08:30 BE6921 ISLAY ON TIME
08:55 BE6843 CAMPBELTOWN ON TIME
09:15 BA296 CHICAGO ON TIME
09:00 EZY785 GATWICK ON TIME
09:35 TOM129 BARBADOS ON TIME
10:15 BA212 BOSTON ON TIME
10:50 BE6811 ISLE OF MAN ON TIME
11:00 BE6853 TIREE ON TIME
11:00 BE127 BELFAST CITY ON TIME
11:05 FI430 REYKJAVIK ON TIME
11:25 BE128 BELFAST CITY ON TIME
11:35 EI3223 DUBLIN ON TIME
11:45 BE6916 KIRKWALL ON TIME
12:05 FI431 REYKJAVIK ON TIME
12:20 BE6915 KIRKWALL ON TIME
12:25 BE6808 BENBECULA ON TIME
14:10 BE6826 STORNOWAY ON TIME
13:00 BE6812 ISLE OF MAN ON TIME
13:00 BE6854 TIREE ON TIME

All UK airspace and airports are re-opening at 10pm (UK time tonight), about 15 minutes from now.

Let's keep our fingers crossed that Katla doesn't erupt now. :shifty:

The skies over Grenoble, France seems quite busy at the moment :)

It’s so good to be home
21 April 2010

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/polopoly_fs/8845241-1.1022173!image/2065234832.JPG_gen/derivatives/landscape_620/2065234832.JPG
Virgin Atlantic Air hostess Marina Lower greets daughter Cadey at Glasgow International Airport.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/polopoly_fs/john-and-fiona-ross-from-clarkston-are-greeted-by-sons-fraser-left-and-graeme-1.1022120!image/1203977007.JPG_gen/derivatives/landscape_300/1203977007.JPG
John and Fiona Ross from Clarkston are greeted by sons Fraser, left, and Graeme.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/polopoly_fs/8843049-1.1022119!image/701685753.JPG_gen/derivatives/landscape_300/701685753.JPG
Hannah Black from Gatehead, near Kilmarnock, is greated by father Ross at Glasgow International Airport on Tuesday night.


There were cheers of joy as a planeload of stranded passengers touched down at Glasgow International Airport today as flight restrictions were lifted.

Families enjoyed an emotional reunion with hugs and tears when they saw loved ones coming through the international arrival doors.

It wasn’t just passengers who were relieved to be home after volcanic ash fears eased.

Virgin Atlantic air steward Marina Lower, 28, was reunited with daughters Cadey, 2, and Kendra, 1. She had been without them for more than a week.

She said: “It’s just great to see them.”

Slowly but surely it was almost business as usual at Glasgow International Airport opened for its first full day since the volcanic ash cloud descen*ded over UK airspace almost a week ago.

Families on the 6.55am Virgin Atlantic flight from Orlando, Florida, were just over an hour delayed, but it had taken them several days to get home.

Mum and daughter Sharon and Monica Kelly received a big hug from sister Elaine who was anxiously awaiting their arrival back in the UK.

Sharon, 35, from Mount Vernon, was delighted to be back home.

She and daughter Monica had enjoyed a Disney holiday and even swam with dolphins.

However when news broke of the travel disruption their holiday came to an abrupt end.

Sharon said: “We were due to fly home last Friday. We were actually on the plane and taken off it again.

“We might still have been away but it didn’t feel like a holiday when we heard about the ash cloud. We are just glad to be back.”

Mount Vernon Primary seven pupil Monica came home clutching a new friend cuddly dolphin Akai.

The 11-year-old said: “I have missed a couple of days of school but I am not that bothered.”

Mum-of-three Sharon McNiven, 37, from East Kilbride, burst into tears with relief at being home.

She said: “It has been a nightmare. I hate to think what we have had to shell out in extra hotel nights and car hire. It is a relief to be home now.”

Today check-in desks had queues – albeit just a handful of them – as passengers began arriving again for departing flights.

EasyJet flights for Alicante, Stansted and Belfast took off earlier this morning with several others scheduled throughout the day.

BMI is expected to resume its Glasgow operation around lunchtime with British Airways domestic flights scheduled to start late afternoon.

Easter holidaymakers were due to fly home last weekend with Virgin, but they were not brought home until this morning.

The planeload of 450 was the first of two expected and travellers were just happy to be home.

Another Virgin Atlantic flight was expected to come into Glasgow tomorrow and three rescue flights brought passengers into Glasgow overnight from Arrecife, Heraklion, and Sharm el Sheik.

An Emirates flight from Dubai was expected at 1pm today.

Amanda McMillan, managing director of Glasgow International Airport, said: “I think this is a sign we are getting back to normal. Flights are moving and within 24 hours I think we will see a big difference.”

Flights began landing in Scots airports late last night for the first time in five days following the lifting of restrictions caused by a volcanic ash cloud.

British airspace was reopened from 10pm last night, paving the way for airlines to take to the skies again and to start to bring home the thousands stranded abroad.

Passengers arriving in Glasgow International Airport from Crete at 11.30pm last night told how the pilot tried to resassure more than 200 passengers on board that it was safe to fly.

And the crew got a round of applause from the relieved passengers when the plane landed safely.

Among those arriving were 55 passengers who had been rerouted from Manchester who were immediately bussed back to the north west of England.

British airspace was reopened from 10pm last night, paving the way for airlines to take to the skies again and to start to bring home the thousands stranded abroad.

The Civil Aviation Authority sanctioned the reopening of airspace for the first time since flights were grounded across Europe on Thursday.

The move was decided after manufacturers agreed increased ash tolerance levels for planes.

Belgian tourists evacuated by military planes

http://picture.belga.be/belgapicture/picture/prev/19863788.jpg

http://picture.belga.be/belgapicture/picture/prev/19863695.jpg

http://picture.belga.be/belgapicture/picture/prev/19863717.jpg

http://picture.belga.be/belgapicture/picture/prev/19863776.jpg

http://picture.belga.be/belgapicture/picture/prev/19865175.jpg

:smug:
http://picture.belga.be/belgapicture/picture/prev/19863717.jpg

the best solution in Lisbon airport

615wZhPGLAA

What a load of crap. Why the hell are people crying, hugging and celebrating? It was a delay of like 5 or 6 days, not like they were taken hostages during a hijacking. What a bunch of drama queens. I wonder what they do when a family member returns after a 2 week holiday. Welcome them with flowers and a red carpet maybe.

^^
haha indeed! lol

What a load of crap. Why the hell are people crying, hugging and celebrating? It was a delay of like 5 or 6 days, not like they were taken hostages during a hijacking. What a bunch of drama queens. I wonder what they do when a family member returns after a 2 week holiday. Welcome them with flowers and a red carpet maybe.

I'm guessing allot of people will have been away for 2 weeks and then "stranded" for a further 5 days.

During the 5 days, nobody knew how long they would be stranded for so I think people have the right to be emotional when returning home.

What a load of crap. Why the hell are people crying, hugging and celebrating? It was a delay of like 5 or 6 days, not like they were taken hostages during a hijacking. What a bunch of drama queens. I wonder what they do when a family member returns after a 2 week holiday. Welcome them with flowers and a red carpet maybe.first of all...your whole message is one and all crap.....
second of all, Are u aware of how many people are being affected by this ash cloud?!?!?!?! A lot of people have still no option to go home or already waiting 6-7 days and some of them have to wait 2 weeks more or even later to get home...This brings a lot of uncalculated expenses with them and it's not for sure if they get (a part of) it back/a refund. And what about urgent medical services for some peeps or relatives which are ill or even have past away, but the passenger can't go to it because of this 'disaster'....
And you forget all the business' related to aviation...A lot of people missed a lot of income because of this and many companies don't have the (right) insurance to get the missed revenue and income back...
This is an emotional, economic and social disaster for a lot of people, so please don't talk B*LLSH*T if you don't know what ya talkin about...The total cost of this disaster will costs billions of euro/dollar and who's going to pay for it......maybe a little support by government/E.U., but that's all!!!! Or are you willing to pay this?

I'm guessing allot of people will have been away for 2 weeks and then "stranded" for a further 5 days.

During the 5 days, nobody knew how long they would be stranded for so I think people have the right to be emotional when returning home.
Big deal. 19 instead of 14 days. My brother was stuck there and he had to be here for my wedding. He'll finally arrive today (or probably just have) and will just make it to the event. I'm sure no-one will be crying or hugging or shit like that. I can't think of a scenario where someone being stuck for 5 days will make me cry/hug/weep.

first of all...your whole message is one and all crap.....
second of all, Are u aware of how many people are being affected by this ash cloud?!?!?!?! A lot of people have still no option to go home or already waiting 6-7 days and some of them have to wait 2 weeks more or even later to get home...This brings a lot of uncalculated expenses with them and it's not for sure if they get (a part of) it back/a refund. And what about urgent medical services for some peeps or relatives which are ill or even have past away, but the passenger can't go to it because of this 'disaster'....
And you forget all the business' related to aviation...A lot of people missed a lot of income because of this and many companies don't have the (right) insurance to get the missed revenue and income back...
This is an emotional, economic and social disaster for a lot of people, so please don't talk B*LLSH*T if you don't know what ya talkin about...The total cost of this disaster will costs billions of euro/dollar and who's going to pay for it......maybe a little support by government/E.U., but that's all!!!! Or are you willing to pay this?
Emotional and social disaster? HOW?

As for the economical disaster, I think EU will probably pay the airlines. A lot of businesses have suffered, but not to a huge degree. Also, a lot of businesses have also made a lot of money (cabs, trucks, buses, trains).

Emotional and social disaster? HOW?

As for the economical disaster, I think EU will probably pay the airlines. A lot of businesses have suffered, but not to a huge degree. Also, a lot of businesses have also made a lot of money (cabs, trucks, buses, trains).

do you think the EU will pay the airlines no because it's not there fault you just can't stop a volcano erupting. it will be more likely that the airlines will pay for compassion in some areas (not most) due to the fact they treated people well and put them in hotels.saying bailing out airline companies is just not the right way to go unless this continued for weeks on end then yes then a bail out would be needed. all i can say they put safety in front rather than money.

If any airline goes out of business due to the volcano, the chances are that airline was already on the brink of collapse.

do you think the EU will pay the airlines no because it's not there fault you just can't stop a volcano erupting. it will be more likely that the airlines will pay for compassion in some areas (not most) due to the fact they treated people well and put them in hotels.saying bailing out airline companies is just not the right way to go unless this continued for weeks on end then yes then a bail out would be needed. all i can say they put safety in front rather than money.
My personal view (yours can differ obviously) is that if a company's going down due to an act of god, then there isn't anything wrong with the government helping it. Say, like, if there's an earthquake for example.

And the ash is coming over continental Europe again. It's time to buy more turboprops...

Jet2 refusing to compensate passengers

Budget airline Jet2 has told passengers they will not be reimbursed for expenses incurred as a result of cancelled flights.

A Jet2 statement said: "We appreciate some of our Jet2.com customers may have unfortunately incurred additional expense due to this extraordinary situation, which was entirely outside of our control."

"These expenses will not be reimbursed by Jet2.com."

Jet2 holidaymakers in Egypt have been told they will be left stranded in Egypt for a further two weeks unless they sign-away their claim for compensation.

Volcanic ash disruptions force Europe to speed up air traffic control reforms
23 April 2010

BRUSSELS (AP) - The European Union speeded up action on a sweeping reform of its air traffic control system Friday after a crisis over volcanic ash turned much of the continent into a no-fly zone for days.

"The worst is now over, but there is a huge amount of work to be done to deal with crisis management," EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas told reporters.

Germany invited aviation experts, EU officials and industry representatives to Berlin on Tuesday to discuss setting standards for air travel, and Spain -- which holds the EU's rotating presidency -- said EU transport ministers would meet May 4 in Brussels for talks on a unified European airspace.

European airspace on Friday was almost completely free of volcanic ash from Iceland, according to Eurocontrol, the air traffic agency. All of British airspace was available after four small airports in Scotland reopened.

But for the first time since the April 14 eruption, Iceland's major international airport was closed after shifting winds blew the ash cloud toward the capital of Reykjavik, west of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano. Trans-Atlantic flights on Icelandair that usually stop in Iceland were being rerouted through Glasgow in Scotland.

Flights across the rest of Europe were proceeding normally, said Eurocontrol spokeswoman Kyla Evans. About 29,000 flights were scheduled.

A week of airspace closures caused by the ash threat to planes created the worst breakdown in civil aviation in Europe since World War II. More than 100,000 flights were canceled and airlines are on track to lose over $2 billion.

The "Single European Sky" project was supposed to have begun in 2012, but Kallas said the latest crisis showed that "we cannot afford to wait that long."

"The absence of a single European regulator for air traffic control made it very difficult to respond to this crisis. We needed a fast, coordinated European response .... instead we had a fragmented patchwork of 27 national airspaces," Kallas said.

The EU has 27 national air traffic control networks, 60 air traffic centers and hundreds of approach centers and towers. In contrast, the United States manages twice the number of flights for a similar cost using only about 20 control centers.

"Without a central regulator, Europe was operating with one hand tied behind its back," he said.

A seamless EU air navigation system would straighten out Europe's zigzag air routes to reduce fuel burn, and beef up the role of the European Air Safety Agency that now deals largely with planes' airworthiness. It would enable a single command center to divert traffic and to provide detailed data to national air traffic centers.

Up until now, EU governments have wanted to keep full sovereignty over their airspaces for security reasons. Some employees have also fought the new program -- French air traffic controllers, fearing salary cuts and job losses, have gone on strike over the issue.

In Iceland, the volcano was active Friday but its ash production was minimal.

Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson, a geophysicist at the University of Iceland, said the volcano was only spewing 10-20 metric tons of ash a second into the air, compared to 750 tons a second at the peak of the eruption.

"The threat from the volcano is now local. It is not hemispherical," he told The Associated Press. "It is mostly a steam plume. It is carrying only a small fraction of what it was before."

Still he said the eruption was continuing and scientists were monitoring it closely.

"I think we have seen the worst. The peak of the eruption over, but how long it will linger on is impossible to tell," he said.

France made euro1 million ($1.3 million) available in aid to stranded French travelers to help cover expenses due to ash-related delays. At least 20,000 French citizens were still stranded in foreign airports Friday, primarily in the United States and east Asia.

------

Associated Press correspondents Robert Wielaard in Brussels, Jill Lawless and Jennifer Quinn in London, Daniel Woolls in Madrid, Melissa Eddy in Berlin and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.

My personal view (yours can differ obviously) is that if a company's going down due to an act of god, then there isn't anything wrong with the government helping it. Say, like, if there's an earthquake for example.

companies go under and new ones rise up it how economics works and why the hell everyone is saying it's a act of god ?!? it a act of nature nothing to do with god (if you believe in him of cause).

on another note what happen to the 2 other navy ships and buses that where going to pick up stranded people ? Gives me more reason to not vote labour. at least that curies ship picked up ppl for free which would cost you usually £1000 a week that's a good sign of companies helping out and the government did not

companies go under and new ones rise up it how economics works and why the hell everyone is saying it's a act of god ?!? it a act of nature nothing to do with god (if you believe in him of cause).

on another note what happen to the 2 other navy ships and buses that where going to pick up stranded people ? Gives me more reason to not vote labour. at least that curies ship picked up ppl for free which would cost you usually £1000 a week that's a good sign of companies helping out and the government did not

"Act of God" is the term used in the industry for natural disasters, and I believe in many countries, no compensation to passengers is provided in these cases.

"Act of god" has nothing to do with any god, it's just a blanket term for anything which can't be predicted and usually refers to natural disasters.

Iceland volcano: Pitt researcher compiles first high-res images;

The images are available on Pitt's Web site at http://www.pitt.edu/~mramsey/data/iceland.

For fuck sake

Ireland closed tomorrow

Both Glasgow Airports will be closed from 07:00 tomorrow. :bash:

The disruptions STILL aren't over yet?! The airline industry must have lost of billions.

All flights to/from Glasgow International are suspended till atleast 1900 tonight. Passengers should contact their airline for further information.

All flights to/from Glasgow Prestwick today are cancelled. Passengers should contact their airline for further information.

:bash:

The airline industry must have lost of billions.
Over 100,000 flights canceled, 10 million pax affected, over 1B EUR in airline losses.

The disruptions STILL aren't over yet?! The airline industry must have lost of billions.

well, the disruptions were over. this time a 'new' cloud is leading to disruptions in ireland and parts of the UK only.

It hasn't stopped erupting. ;) The disruptions ended firstly because of less strict regulations for flying in ash and secondly because the weather changed. There is the chance of these problems lasting on-and-off for months or more. Depends on the weather and the strength of the eruption.

Most Irish airspace closed til at least 4 am tomorrow.

you're right, of course. the eruption hasn't stopped. the disruptions in europe because of the eruption were over (for whatever reasons) though, despite the ongoing activity of the volcano. let's hope the current disruptions won't be as bad as the last ones.

The disruption went away as the weather changed, instead of winds coming from the north, I think we started getting winds from the south, which kept the ash clouds up over Iceland. The wind direction has again changed, this bringing the ash clouds back south towards Europe.

Glasgow along with the rest of Scotland will remain closed till at least 01:00 tomorrow.

you're right, of course. the eruption hasn't stopped. the disruptions in europe because of the eruption were over (for whatever reasons) though, despite the ongoing activity of the volcano. let's hope the current disruptions won't be as bad as the last ones.

Amen to that, really hope it doesn't affect the summer.
*crosses fingers*

Information from today, 10 am. from Iceland Review Online:

Iceland Volcano Spews Ash Again

The volcano in Eyjafjallajökull glacier appears to be spewing as much ash as it did at the beginning of the eruption; a great plume of ash extended from the crater yesterday and last night. The phreatic eruption continues with significant force and explosive activity is increasing. The Civil Protection Department will discuss the situation today.

Ash fall in south Iceland. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.

The volcanic cloud reached a height of 10.5 kilometers at 7:30 pm yesterday; it extended six to seven kilometers into the air during the night. The chemical combination of the ash will be analyzed today, ruv.is reports.

Freysteinn Sigmundsson, a geophysicist at the University of Iceland Institute of Earth Science, said that although the volcanic ash has reached a similar height as during the early stages of the eruption, it doesn’t appear to be as dense. He assumes the activity of the eruption will continue at the same level in the coming days.

The ash cloud is being carried either to the south or southeast and so ash caused disruption to flights in Ireland and the western British Isles during the night.

Aviation authorities in the UK announced last night that there was no ash in the country’s airspace and so all airports there opened in the morning.

Link (http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=29314&ew_0_a_id=361838) to the article

Icelandic (http://www.mbl.is/mm/frettir/innlent/2010/05/06/enn_godur_kraftur_i_gosinu/) version

BBC News (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8669610.stm):


Volcanic ash cloud shuts Spanish airports

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47802000/gif/_47802514_ashcloud_spain_may8_466.gif

Spain has closed 15 airports as a cloud of ash from an Icelandic volcano drifts south over Western Europe.

National airport management agency Aena said nine airports closed early on Saturday and six more shut from 1200 local time (1000 GMT).

The restrictions would be in place until at least 1800, Aena said

Most flights between Europe and North America are being diverted because of the ash cloud's latest drifting, officials at Eurocontrol said.

Flights are being rerouted north and south of the 1,200 mile (2,000km) long cloud.

On average, 600 airliners make the Atlantic crossing every day, correspondents say.

Aena said the airports affected were Bilbao, San Sebastian, Vitoria, Zaragoza, Pamplona, La Rioja, Santiago, La Coruna, Vigo, Asturias, Santander, Leon, Valladolid, Burgos and Salamanca.

Eurocontrol, the agency that co-ordinates aviation safety in Europe, said airports were also expected to close in northern Portugal and parts of southern France.

In the UK, some flights to Spain were being affected.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47802000/gif/_47802423_spain_airports_may10.gif

At London Stansted, 22 Ryanair flights to the Canary Islands, mainland Spain and Portugal were cancelled, along with three EasyJet flights.

Flights from Gatwick to Portugal, Alicante and Madrid were cancelled and at Heathrow some flights to La Coruna in northern Spain were also grounded.

Last month, thousands of travellers were stranded after ash shut down airspace across Europe.

Recent images have shown activity in the Eyjafjallajokull volcano intensifying.

Experts at the UK's Met Office said it was sending ash up to heights of 30,000 ft (9,100m).

Flights across Ireland and parts of the UK were disrupted earlier this week.

Over 100,000 flights canceled, 10 million pax affected, over 1B EUR in airline losses.

Damn, that certainly is not good news. Hope everything returns to normal ASAP. :(

Looks like my holiday in Spain will start with a flight to Paris tomorrow and a looong drive down south- all flights to Spain are currently CANCELLED.

:bash:

Iceland- First they went bancrupt, now they fart with ash to fu*k everyone else. ;-)
(only a joke don't get mad at me you Ragnar Helgason or other X xxxson)

Looks like my holiday in Spain will start with a flight to Paris tomorrow and a looong drive down south- all flights to Spain are currently CANCELLED.

:bash:

Iceland- First they went bancrupt, now they fart with ash to fu*k everyone else. ;-)
(only a joke don't get mad at me you Ragnar Helgason or other X xxxson)

Bjarki Xxxxxxxxxxxson here. I'm quite furious and on my way over to kick you in the face. Well as soon as the airspace opens anyways.

Seriously though, we are starting to hate that fucking gate to hell more than anyone else. It is sort of hard to rebuilding a collapsed economy when the tourists are cancelling their trips because they are afraid that they would be consumed by molten lava if they show up.

WSJ: Europe's Aviation Industry To Test New Volcanic Ash Response System
4 March 2011
(c) 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

ISTANBUL--European airlines and regulators are poised to test next month a new regional emergency response system intended to help reduce air-traffic disruptions from future volcanic ash events.

The upcoming exercise, spelled out Thursday at an aviation safety conference here, aims to validate enhanced computer models and data-sharing tools designed to avoid a repeat of last year's massive airspace shutdowns that affected more than 100,000 flights and 10 million passengers in the region.

(This story and related background material will be available on The Wall Street Journal website, WSJ.com.)

A European air-traffic control official said representatives of more than 200 entities are expected to take part in the two-day exercise, including carriers, national aviation authorities and weather experts.

Maria Cruz Garcia de Dios of Eurocontrol, the Brussels-based organization that manages air-traffic control services with the participation of more than 35 countries, told the conference the goal is to improve the accuracy and speed of information about the extent of ash contamination in the atmosphere. Improved forecasting and faster coordination of data should help depict "where the (ash) cloud is likely to be at a certain moment and altitude," she said.

By more accurately projecting the movement of ash plumes--and providing updated and detailed maps of potentially hazardous areas--Eurocontrol hopes to avoid the chaos that occurred after the 2010 eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano. "We have a real big interest in how it's going to help us" cope with future eruptions, said Kevin Hiatt, executive vice president of the Flight Safety Foundation, which sponsored the European safety seminar.

Overall, airlines lost an estimated $1.8 billion in revenue due to last spring's air-traffic disruptions. There also was widespread criticism of political disputes and conflicting safety analyses that kept roughly 80% of Europe's skies off limits to airliners for days.

The latest computer simulations and assessment tools won't solve the fundamental problem: safety experts, manufacturers, airlines and regulators haven't agreed on a comprehensive set of standards establishing when it's safe for aircraft fly through even low-level concentrations of ash.

Substantial research needs to be done to better understand the way volcanic ash spreads through the atmosphere. International industry and government study groups are at least months away from issuing revised safety guidelines airlines could follow. And regulators in various countries still will retain the ultimate authority to determine whether flights can operate.

But in the meantime, Eurocontrol and its partners are trying to assemble an Internet-based emergency network capable of distributing more accurate and thorough data to decision makers. The impending test "has created a great expectation," according to Garcia de Dios, and "we will be looking at the feedback provided by the different parties."

In previous years, Eurocontrol helped organize emergency-response exercises to prepare for possible volcanic eruptions. But none of those earlier tests and simulations envisioned the widespread traffic disruptions the region experienced last year.

According to Eurocontrol, the emergency system also will be able to help the region cope more effectively with the environmental impacts and other fallout from wildfires or nuclear-plant accidents.

Don't want to scare you guys, but we've just had an eruption of Grimsvotn volcano at 19:25 today local time. We don't know much yet

Waiting for more info/pictures

Some more info here (http://www.pantagraph.com/news/world/article_64091394-83ee-11e0-9b5b-001cc4c03286.html)

EDIT:

first picture:

http://twitpic.com/50pgcp

Our Met Office confirms (http://en.vedur.is/)

Updates comes fast in this thread with images and the latest updates from me and Icelandic forumers: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=800998&page=95

About eruption, winds and aviation: Eruption seem to be very big, larger than the previous eruptions from this volcano, ash has reached 15km as of latest reports. Winds are blowing the ash east to southeast, in direction of Mainland Europe. Expect aviation disrupts in Iceland and near Iceland. Will be interesting to see if the ash reaches Europe and what happens then.

Hopefully the eruption from this volcano won't be as bad as the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull which caused European airspace to shut down.

^^ the eruption is already larger actually. The plume reached 20km, which is the largest eruption on Iceland since 1947.

Good news is that the ash is much coarser than the Eyjafjallajökull ash, so much less of a threat to stay in the air and disrupt air traffic over Europe. Even the no-fly zone around the volcano is relatively small compared to the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption (so far). The latest London VAAC ash models show the ash mostly around Iceland and in the North Atlantic.