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New volcanic ash stalls Europe flight
plans
SOME OPEN AIRSPACE: A number of European countries have
allowed a gradual resumption of flights, though London's Heathrow remained
closed
AFP, LONDON
Wednesday, Apr 21, 2010, Page 1
A Slovakian couple — Juraj Hegyi and Zuzana
Marcekova — get married at Taoyuan’s Orchard Park Hotel yesterday after their
trip home to get married was delayed because of dust from Iceland’s erupting
Eyjafjallajokull volcano.
PHOTO: LI JUNG-PING, TAIPEI TIMES
New spurts of ash from Iceland's volcano triggered fresh travel mayhem
yesterday, puncturing stranded travelers' hopes of getting home quickly despite
the reopening of some of Europe's major air hubs.
While some countries — including France, Germany and Belgium — allowed a gradual
resumption of flights, others scrapped plans to end their lockdown as
authorities in Iceland said the volcanic activity was still “considerable.”
Millions of people have been stranded across the globe since Europe began
shutting down airspace six days ago, while the International Air Transport
Association says the crisis is costing the industry US$200 million a day.
Airlines such as British Airways (BA) and Germany's Lufthansa have been at the
forefront of pressure for an immediate reopening of the airspace and had hoped
that yesterday would mark the beginning of the end of the crisis.
Eurocontrol, the body coordinating air traffic control across the continent,
said about 14,000 flights scheduled in Europe for yesterday should have taken
place, representing around half of the normal volume.
Taipei-based China Airlines (CAL, 華航) resumed flights to Rome yesterday.
The CAL flight from Taipei to Rome via Delhi took off at 8:40am yesterday and
was scheduled to make the return flight at 8:30pm tonight, the company said.
Taiwan's EVA Airways (長榮航空), however, decided yesterday afternoon to halt its
planned flight from Taipei to Vienna for two more days after it was informed
that the airport in Vienna was only approving the departure of short-haul
flights.
The two carriers continued their suspension of flights to London, Amsterdam and
Frankfurt. These flights will immediately resume once the airports there are
re-opened, airline officials said.
While several smaller airports in Britain did resume operations, London Heathrow
— Europe's biggest — remained closed.
BA canceled all its short-haul flights after the National Air Traffic Services,
which manages British airspace, said the situation was “worsening in some
areas.”
In Iceland itself, police said blasts could be seen from three separate craters,
although the plume of ash from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano was diminishing.
“I would worry if we saw expansion of the volcano, but we are seeing the volcano
shrink,” said Sigrun Hreinsdottir, a geophysicist at the University of Iceland.
The French-based European Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre said the fresh ash would
pass over Britain and Nordic countries but spare other parts of Europe.
Australia's Qantas Airways extended its ban on flights to and from Europe for
another 24 hours, citing “additional volcanic activity.”
Aviation authorities in Ireland had hoped to reopen its airspace at dawn but
announced the ban was being extended.
Denmark's aviation authority Naviair said all its airports would remain closed
until at least today and that it had pushed back a low-cost airline's test
flight because of a high concentration of ash.
German authorities extended the closure of its airspace by six hours to 1800 GMT
although Lufthansa was given clearance to fly visually rather than relying on
instruments, and staying in constant contact with traffic controllers.
Lufthansa said it planned to carry more than 15,000 passengers on some 200
flights, around 11 percent of its normal daily schedule.
Flights have begun landing at Belgian airports, including Brussels.
And in France, Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau said 30 percent of
scheduled national and international flights would fly from Paris airports.
“I am happy, I'm going to see my wife again,” an Ivorian man said after stepping
off a flight from Abidjan at Charles de Gaulle Airport.
Even the world's top soccer players were caught up in the chaos with Barcelona
traveling by bus to Milan for a Champions League semi-final.
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