Tens of thousands of airline passengers remain stranded around the world today as the volcanic dust cloud continues to ground virtually all flights across Northern Europe. UK airspace will remain closed till at least 1am Monday, with experts now warning that eruptions could continue for months.
The National Air Traffic Control Services (NATS) had earlier suggested UK airspace may have reopened on Saturday morning. But after consultation with the MET office, the British air traffic control service extended the no-fly period to Sunday morning, and in its latest update to Monday
“The volcanic ash cloud from Iceland is moving around and changing shape,” it said.
“Based on the latest information from the Met Office, Nats advises that the restrictions currently in place across UK controlled airspace will remain in place until at least 1am Monday.”
“We are looking for opportunities when the ash cloud moves sufficiently for us to make some airspace available within Scotland and Northern Ireland, which may enable some domestic flights to operate under individual coordination with air traffic control,” it added. “We will be coordinating this closely with airlines and airports.”
“There may be limited opportunity in Orkney and Shetland from 1900 (local time) for some flights to operate under individual coordination with ATC. However, it is most unlikely that many flights will operate today and anyone hoping to travel should contact their airline before travelling to the airport.”
European Disaster
Eurocontrol - the European air traffic control organisation - has warned flights could be disrupted into next week.
As many as 17,000 flights were cancelled over the weekend, with just 40 per cent of scheduled flights within the European Union taking to the air.
Airports in the Republic of Ireland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Belgium and the Netherlands have all been closed as airspace is shut down.
Travel alternatives
Ferry operators have reported record bookings. P&O took 6,000 foot passengers across the Channel on Friday compared to the 100 to 200 it would expect at this time of year.
Eurostar services were fully booked until tomorrow, with 50,000 more passengers than normal since the airspace closures on Thursday.
The grounding of all flights has already cost the British economy at least £920 million, with losses expected to rise at the rate of £230m for every day of further disruption.
The airline industry alone will have lost an estimated £520 million by the end of today, with losses of £130m for every day of disruption.
Iceland
Aviation experts have pointed to previous incidents where aircraft engines have become jammed when attempting to fly through clouds of volcanic ash.
In Iceland, volcanic ash continues to erupt from the Eyjaffjalljokull Mountain. Experts warn tiny particles of rock, glass and sand contained in the volcanic ash cloud could jam jet engines.
Einar Kjartansson, a geophysicist at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, explained: “It is likely the production of ash will continue at a comparable level for some days or weeks.
“But where it disrupts travel, that depends on the weather. It depends how the wind carries the ash.”
Airport operator BAA has advised travellers to remain at home, and contact airlines before heading to airports.
A statement read: “Following the latest advice from NATS, all flights to and from all BAA airports are suspended until 01:00 Monday at the earliest.
“Passengers due to fly today should not travel to these airports until further notice, and should remain in touch with their airlines.
Take a look here for the Breaking Travel News guide to alternative travel solutions.
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