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Air passengers warned of more disruption from volcanic ash cloud
Fresh plume from Eyjafjallajokull volcano forces closure of airspace over Scotland and Northern Ireland
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 4 May 2010 19.05 BST
Air passengers have been warned of further disruption caused by volcanic ash drifting south from Iceland. Photograph: Brynjar Gauti/AP
Air passengers face further disruption after the Civil Aviation Authority tonight said that airspace over Scotland and Northern Ireland will be closed from 7am tomorrow due to a new cloud of volcanic ash drifting south from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland.
The CAA said there were concerns that the ash cloud would continue to move south, potentially affecting airports in the north-west of England and north Wales.
A CAA spokesman said: "The UK Met Office has informed the CAA that ash over UK airspace has increased in density … meaning the Met Office forecasts of 'no fly zone' locations have been extended further south.
"The forecasts also show that it is likely that the ash cloud will continue to move south, potentially affecting airports in the north-west of England and North Wales.
"The situation is very dynamic, so passengers expecting to travel from the impacted airports should contact their airlines to check their flight is operating."
The Irish aviation watchdog warned of a "summer of uncertainty", with sporadic disruption from the volcano's activity, despite the introduction of a more nuanced safety code that will allow flights through ash-contaminated air.
But parts of the latest volcanic cloud were considered "too dense" under guidelines drawn up after consultations with engine manufacturers.
"We could be faced with this periodically [in] the summer," said Eamon Brennan, chief executive of the Irish Aviation Authority.
Ireland and Northern Ireland reopened airspace this afternoon after a six-hour shutdown saw hundreds of services cancelled and added stress to David Cameron's dash to an Ulster Unionist party rally in County Down. Flights to and from airports in the Western Isles were also grounded.
In continental Europe flights were not hit by the latest plume, except for those bound for Ireland, because of the new flight rules that let planes fly through low-density clouds of ash.
One victim was Ireland's transport minister, Noel Dempsey, who was unable to get to a meeting of his EU counterparts in Brussels. The meeting backed a proposal to unify European airspace by splitting it into nine blocks by 2012, but some ministers opposed awarding state aid to airlines to compensate the industry's £1.5bn loss.
Andrew Adonis, the transport secretary, said: "The meeting agreed measures to strengthen co-ordination between European aviation safety regulators, in the face of the continuing threat from the volcanic ash. It was also agreed to support the continuation of EU regulations which require airlines to provide accommodation and assistance to stranded passengers."
A 24-hour general strike in Greece, called for tomorrow, to protest against the government's recent austerity measures forced easyJet and British Airways to cancel all flights.
Fresh plume from Eyjafjallajokull volcano forces closure of airspace over Scotland and Northern Ireland
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 4 May 2010 19.05 BST
Air passengers have been warned of further disruption caused by volcanic ash drifting south from Iceland. Photograph: Brynjar Gauti/AP
Air passengers face further disruption after the Civil Aviation Authority tonight said that airspace over Scotland and Northern Ireland will be closed from 7am tomorrow due to a new cloud of volcanic ash drifting south from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland.
The CAA said there were concerns that the ash cloud would continue to move south, potentially affecting airports in the north-west of England and north Wales.
A CAA spokesman said: "The UK Met Office has informed the CAA that ash over UK airspace has increased in density … meaning the Met Office forecasts of 'no fly zone' locations have been extended further south.
"The forecasts also show that it is likely that the ash cloud will continue to move south, potentially affecting airports in the north-west of England and North Wales.
"The situation is very dynamic, so passengers expecting to travel from the impacted airports should contact their airlines to check their flight is operating."
The Irish aviation watchdog warned of a "summer of uncertainty", with sporadic disruption from the volcano's activity, despite the introduction of a more nuanced safety code that will allow flights through ash-contaminated air.
But parts of the latest volcanic cloud were considered "too dense" under guidelines drawn up after consultations with engine manufacturers.
"We could be faced with this periodically [in] the summer," said Eamon Brennan, chief executive of the Irish Aviation Authority.
Ireland and Northern Ireland reopened airspace this afternoon after a six-hour shutdown saw hundreds of services cancelled and added stress to David Cameron's dash to an Ulster Unionist party rally in County Down. Flights to and from airports in the Western Isles were also grounded.
In continental Europe flights were not hit by the latest plume, except for those bound for Ireland, because of the new flight rules that let planes fly through low-density clouds of ash.
One victim was Ireland's transport minister, Noel Dempsey, who was unable to get to a meeting of his EU counterparts in Brussels. The meeting backed a proposal to unify European airspace by splitting it into nine blocks by 2012, but some ministers opposed awarding state aid to airlines to compensate the industry's £1.5bn loss.
Andrew Adonis, the transport secretary, said: "The meeting agreed measures to strengthen co-ordination between European aviation safety regulators, in the face of the continuing threat from the volcanic ash. It was also agreed to support the continuation of EU regulations which require airlines to provide accommodation and assistance to stranded passengers."
A 24-hour general strike in Greece, called for tomorrow, to protest against the government's recent austerity measures forced easyJet and British Airways to cancel all flights.
