Iceland volcano closes UK, Irish airports
Source: Agencies |
May 5, 2010, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AIRPORTS in Ireland and parts of Britain were closed again for hours yesterday because of the cloud of volcanic ash drifting south from Iceland that wreaked havoc on European air travel last month.
The Irish Aviation Authority allowed flights to resume from Irish airports from noon after a closure lasting six hours. Dublin airport said flight schedules had reverted to normal operations.
Britain's National Air Traffic Services, which had imposed a no-fly zone in the west of Scotland and Northern Ireland, also opened all British airspace from noon, apart from a small no-fly zone in the northwest with no impact on British flights. Flights in much of continental Europe were operating as normal.
However, the IAA said northerly winds forecast for the coming days could bring more clouds of ash from the Icelandic eruption and disrupt flights this week.
"We could be faced with this periodically during the summer," IAA Chief Executive Eamonn Brennan said. "We are probably facing a summer of uncertainty due to this ash cloud."
The IAA had closed airports from 6am due to risk of ash ingestion in aircraft engines, although overflights of Ireland from Britain and continental Europe had not been banned.
European flights overall were expected to be at almost normal levels yesterday, European air traffic agency Eurocontrol said.
On a typical weekday, just under 200 flights would be expected in and out of Ireland, compared with around 28,000 throughout Europe, a spokeswoman said.
However, fresh ash from the erupting volcano could cloud airspace over northern Britain for the next few days following a change in direction of the wind, Iceland's meteorological office said.
Much of European air traffic was grounded last month because of the spread of ash from an erupting volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland. Some 100,000 flights were cancelled and millions of passengers stranded.
The airspace closures cost Europe's airlines 1.5-2.5 billion euros (US$2-3.3 billion).
The Irish Aviation Authority allowed flights to resume from Irish airports from noon after a closure lasting six hours. Dublin airport said flight schedules had reverted to normal operations.
Britain's National Air Traffic Services, which had imposed a no-fly zone in the west of Scotland and Northern Ireland, also opened all British airspace from noon, apart from a small no-fly zone in the northwest with no impact on British flights. Flights in much of continental Europe were operating as normal.
However, the IAA said northerly winds forecast for the coming days could bring more clouds of ash from the Icelandic eruption and disrupt flights this week.
"We could be faced with this periodically during the summer," IAA Chief Executive Eamonn Brennan said. "We are probably facing a summer of uncertainty due to this ash cloud."
The IAA had closed airports from 6am due to risk of ash ingestion in aircraft engines, although overflights of Ireland from Britain and continental Europe had not been banned.
European flights overall were expected to be at almost normal levels yesterday, European air traffic agency Eurocontrol said.
On a typical weekday, just under 200 flights would be expected in and out of Ireland, compared with around 28,000 throughout Europe, a spokeswoman said.
However, fresh ash from the erupting volcano could cloud airspace over northern Britain for the next few days following a change in direction of the wind, Iceland's meteorological office said.
Much of European air traffic was grounded last month because of the spread of ash from an erupting volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland. Some 100,000 flights were cancelled and millions of passengers stranded.
The airspace closures cost Europe's airlines 1.5-2.5 billion euros (US$2-3.3 billion).
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