Volcanic ash turns north Europe into no-fly zone

[Neo]

Volcanic ash turns north Europe into no-fly zone

LONDON (April 16 2010): A huge ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano turned the skies of northern Europe into a no-fly zone on Thursday, stranding hundreds of thousands of passengers. The European air safety organisation said the disruption, the biggest seen in the region, could last another two days and a leading volcano expert said the ash could present intermittent problems to air traffic for 6 months if the eruption continued.

Even if the disruption is short lived, the financial impact on airlines could be significant, a consultant said. The International Air Transport Association had said only days ago airlines were slowly coming out of recession. The volcano began erupting on Wednesday for the second time in a month from below the Eyjafjallajokull glacier. It hurled a plume of ash six to 11 kilometres (3.8 to 7 miles) into the atmosphere, and this spread south east overnight.

Volcanic ash contains tiny particles of glass and pulverised rock which can damage engines and airframes and an Icelandic volcanologist said on Thursday the eruption was growing more intense. Britain barred flights in its air space, except in emergencies, until at least 0600 GMT on Friday, with a flight returning soldiers from Afghanistan having to be held in Cyprus.

It was the first time within living memory that a natural disaster had caused such a halt, a spokeswoman for Britain's National Air Traffic Service (NATS) said. Even after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Britain did not close its air space. John Strickland, director of air transport consultancy JLS Consulting, saw possible broader hazards.

"Iceland sits right on one of the key routes between Europe and the USA and... depending on meteorological conditions it could also affect flights from Europe to Asia so there are two big international flows which could be affected by this."

French authorities said they would close 24 airports across northern France before the end of Thursday, including in Paris. Brussels, Amsterdam and Geneva airports said they had cancelled a large number of flights and Eurocontrol spokesman Brian Flynn said the problem could persist for a further 48 hours.

Finland closed all airports except Helsinki-Vantaa. The Association of British Insurers said volcanic eruptions were not always covered by travel insurance for cancellation and delay. But some airlines issued statements confirming they would refund fares or change flights. Airline staff at Stansted airport, north-east of London, told customers it could be closed until Sunday, said stranded passenger Andy Evans. "People just don't know what to do," he said. "There are hundreds of people in the queues at the sales desks."

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[Neo]

PIA suspends flights to Europe and UK

KARACHI (April 16 2010): Volcanic eruption in Iceland causing Ash clouds in the air space over North Europe and UK has led to temporary suspension of aircraft movement in the region as a precautionary measure amid fears of engine damage, PIA spokesman said here on Thursday. He said that nearly 4000 flights across North Europe were cancelled. UK shut down its airports for the incoming and outgoing flights.

The flight schedule of PIA flights to Europe and UK has also been suspended and passengers travelling to Europe, UK, Canada and US should check the next flight schedule with the call center 111-786-786 before coming to airports. Captain Saleem Ahmad, GM Central Co-ordination, PIA Flight Operations will remain in constant touch with the Air Traffic Controllers in Europe and UK and the moment restrictions are lifted from flight movement PIA will start its flight operations.

PIA has also activated its Emergency Response Centre to assist and guide the passengers the phone are 9221-99242352, 9221-99242332. The arrivals and departures of flights may check on these numbers. PIA flights on route to US, UK and Europe on Thursday suffered due to volcanic Ash. Flights PK 751 Islamabad-Oslo-Copenhagen was diverted to Frankfurt, PK 723 Lahore-Manchester-JFK New York was diverted to Paris, PK757 Lahore-London called back to Lahore and PK 791 Islamabad-Birmingham also returned to Islamabad.-PR

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[Neo]

Ash may hover for days over uncertain Europe

This aerial image shows the crater at the summit of the volcano in southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier Saturday April 17, 2010. A lingering vo AP – This aerial image shows the crater at the summit of the volcano in southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull …

PARIS – The Icelandic volcano that has kept much of Europe land-bound is far from finished spitting out its grit, and offered up new mini-eruptions Saturday that raise concerns about longer-term damage to world air travel and trade.

Facing days to come under the volcano's unpredictable, ashy plume, Europeans are looking at temporary airport layoffs and getting creative with flight patterns to try to weather this extraordinary event.

Modern Europe has never seen such a travel disruption. Air space across a swath from Britain to Ukraine was closed and set to stay that way until Sunday or Monday in some countries, affecting airports from New Zealand to San Francisco. Millions of passengers have had plans foiled or delayed.

Activity in the volcano at the heart of this increased early Saturday, and showed no sign of abating.

"There doesn't seem to be an end in sight," Icelandic geologist Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson told The Associated Press on Saturday. "The activity has been quite vigorous overnight, causing the eruption column to grow."

Scientists say that because the volcano is situated below a glacial ice cap, the magma is being cooled quickly, causing explosions and plumes of grit that can be catastrophic to plane engines, depending on prevailing winds.

In Iceland, winds dragged the ashes over new farmland, to the southwest of the glacier, causing farmers to scramble to secure their cattle and board up windows.

With the sky blackened out and the wind driving a fine, sticky dust, dairy farmer Berglind Hilmarsdottir teamed up with neighbors to round her animals and get them to shelter. The ash is toxic — the fluoride causes long-term bone damage that makes teeth fall out and bones break.

"This is bad. There are no words for it," said Hilmarsdottir, whose pastures near the town of Skogar were already covered in a gray paste of ash.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/eu_icelan...1heWhvdmVyZg--

[Neo]

Volcanic ash over parts of Europe PIA cancels seven more flights

Sunday, April 18, 2010

KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Saturday suspended seven more flights to Europe and the United States of America, as international air traffic remained disrupted for the third consecutive day because of dangerous ash cloud hovering over some European countries, said a statement issued by the national flag carrier on Saturday.

The return flights on Islamabad-Copenhagen-Oslo, Islamabad-Birmingham, Islamabad-London, Islamabad-Leads, Lahore-Glasgow, Lahore-London and Lahore-Manchester-New York routes were cancelled, it said. Five return flights, scheduled for Sunday, have also been cancelled, it said.

A special task force, headed by Aijaz Haroon, Managing Director, is making efforts to resolve the problem arising out of cancellation of 32 flights since Thursday, when a volcanic eruption in Iceland sent fumes in the atmosphere.

The restriction on flights is expected to remain in place till next Wednesday, said the statement.

Around 6,000 passengers of the national flag carrier, across the country and abroad, have been affected due to cancellation of flights. Out of these, around 400 passengers are stranded in European cities, it said.

According to an estimate, PIA has suffered a revenue loss of around Rs500 million or $6 million during the last three days.

Efforts are afoot to transport 320 passengers of flight PK-723, bound for JFK Airport New York, and stranded in Paris for the last three days to their destination subject to the permission of the euro air traffic controllers, it said.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=234735

[Neo]

17,000 flights cancelled due to volcanic ash

Sunday, April 18, 2010

LONDON: A huge ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano spread out across Europe causing air travel chaos on a scale unseen since the Sept 11 attacks and costing airlines hundreds of millions of dollars.

The plume that floated through the upper atmosphere, where it could wreak havoc on jet engines and airframes, threw travel plans into disarray on both sides of the Atlantic. Severe disruption of European air traffic was expected on Saturday because of the dangers posed by the volcanic ash, aviation officials said.

Airports in much of Britain, France and Germany remained closed and flights were set to be grounded in Hungary and parts of Romania. “I am furious and frustrated,” said Sara Bicoccih, stranded at Frankfurt airport on her way home to Italy from Miami.

The US military had to reroute many flights, including those evacuating the wounded from Afghanistan and Iraq, a Pentagon spokesman said. “I would think Europe was probably experiencing its greatest disruption to air travel since 9/11,” a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority, Britain’s aviation regulator, said. “In terms of closure of airspace, this is worse than after 9/11. The disruption is probably larger than anything we’ve probably seen.”

Following the attacks on Washington and New York in 2001, US airspace was closed for three days and European airlines were forced to halt all transatlantic services. Disruption from the volcanic ash eruption in Iceland is costing airlines more than $200 million a day, air industry group the International Air Transport Association said.

But unless the cloud disrupts flights for weeks, threatening factories’ supply chains, economists do not think it will significantly slow Europe’s shaky recovery from recession or affect second-quarter gross domestic product figures.

“The overall impact should be very limited even if the problem persists for a day or more ... ,” IHS Global Insight chief UK and European economist Howard Archer said.

Vulcanologists say the ash could cause problems to air traffic for up to six months if the eruption continues. The financial impact on airlines could be significant. The fallout hit airline shares on Friday with Lufthansa, British Airways, Air Berlin, Air France-KLM, Iberia and Ryanair down between 1.4 and 3.0 per cent.

BA cancelled all flights in and out of London on Saturday. Irish airline Ryanair, Europe’s biggest low-cost carrier, said it would cancel flights to and from northern European countries until 1200 GMT on Monday. Aviation officials said airspace over England and Wales, Germany and northern France would remain closed at least through Saturday morning.

David Castelveter, a spokesman with the Air Transport Association of America trade group, said US airlines had cancelled at least 170 flights to and from Europe. Delta Air Lines, the world’s largest airline, cancelled 75 flights between the United States and European Union on Friday and for Saturday, it has halted 35 flights from the EU to the United States, Delta spokesman Anthony Black said.

Joe Sultana, head of network operations at European air control agency Euro control, said the situation was unprecedented. Euro control said it was up to each country when flights were resumed, based on whether there was clear air, which depended on wind direction. Clear airspace that had been over Vienna and Geneva was closing, so they could be affected.

Mark Seltzer, a forecaster at Britain’s Met Office, said that on Thursday the plume affected northern Scotland because of northwesterly winds at high levels. “However, the winds have become, at upper levels, more westerly and that is steering it more into Scandinavia, taking it away from Scotland and Northern Ireland.” The volcano began erupting on Wednesday for the second time in a month from below the Eyjafjallajokull glacier, hurling a plume of ash 6 to 11 km (4 to 7 miles) into the atmosphere.

Officials said it was still spewing magma and although the eruption could abate in the coming days, ash would continue drifting into the skies of Europe. Iceland’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said there was some damage to roads and barriers protecting farms.

“There is still an evacuation of around 20 farms, which is 40 to 50 people,” she added, noting this was less than the 800 people who had been evacuated earlier this week.

Volcanic ash contains tiny particles of glass and pulverised rock that can damage engines and airframes. In 1982, a British Airways jumbo jet lost power in all its engines when it flew into an ash cloud over Indonesia, gliding towards the ground before it was able to restart its engines.

The incident prompted the aviation industry to rethink the way it prepared for ash clouds. In addition to travel problems, health officials warned that the volcanic ash could also prove harmful to those with breathing difficulties.

In Brussels, European aviation control officials said some 12,000 to 13,000 flights were likely to operate in European airspace on Friday, compared with about 29,500 normally. The ash was expected to spread further south and east.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, returning from a trip to the United States, was diverted to Portugal and was expected to spend the night in Lisbon. However, the Polish president’s funeral looked set to go ahead on Sunday as planned, at his family’s insistence, despite some world leaders being unable to fly in.

The air problems have proved a boon for other transport firms. All 58 Eurostar trains between Britain and Europe were operating full, carrying some 46,500 passengers, and a spokeswoman said they would consider adding more services.

London taxi firm Addison Lee said it had taken requests for journeys to Paris, Milan, Zurich and Salzburg in Austria. Singer Whitney Houston took a ferry from Britain to Ireland for three concerts in Dublin after her flight was scratched.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=234739

[Neo]

16,000 flights cancelled in Europe

BRUSSELS (April 18 2010): Some 16,000 flights in European airspace on Saturday have been cancelled due to the cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland that is still lingering over the contl Europe," the European air traffic co-ordinating agency said in a statement. "Southern Europe - including Spain, the southern Balkan area, southern Italy, Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey - remain open and flights are taking place in these areas," it said.

"Forecasts suggest that the cloud of volcanic ash will persist and that the impact will continue for at least the next 24 hours," it said, referring to Sunday at around 0830 GMT. Whereas a normal Saturday would see 22,000 flights in Europe, Eurocontrol said only about 6,000 would be operating - and out of a routine 300-odd incoming transatlantic flights, a mere 73 had so far arrived. Airspace was closed on Saturday in whole or in part in 21 European countries, including all of Britain and Germany, plus northern France and northern Italy.

"In some of these areas, the upper airspace has been made available, depending on the observed and forecasted area of ash contamination," the Brussels-based agency said. "However, it is difficult to access this airspace as in most cases the surrounding area is not available for flights."

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[Zaki]

yeah true even Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani also cancelled his trip to visit 3 european countries because of Volcanic Ash.

I hope i don't face any problem i am visiting Norway on 4th May. Hopefully everything is ok by then

[Neo]

Volcanic eruption: PIA suffers Rs 500 million loss, 6,000 passengers stranded

PESHAWAR (April 19 2010): Pakistan International Airline (PIA) formed a Task Force supervised by its MD, Captain Aijaz Haroon to meet the challenge and recovery from the situation arising out of 32 PIA flight cancellations since last Thursday owing to persistent volcanic ash and closure of airspace over Europe and UK.

According to a press release issued here on Sunday, the Task Force consists of experienced officers from Passenger Handling, Engineering, Flight Operation, Marketing and Revenue Management, All Station Managers, Security, Planning, Call Center and Emergency Response Center.

Presently, the task force is ensuring maximum passenger care during transit and regular updated information about cancellations and the possibilities of flight resumption. Call center is sending text messages and responding phone inquiries 24 hours.

The press release added nearly 6,000 passengers in the country and abroad booked on the cancelled flights are waiting to take their travel as soon as the flights begin. About 400 passengers in transit are lodged at hotels and being looked after by the airline staff at Paris and other EU destinations. Infants were also being provided milk and diapers.

According to an estimate PIA suffered a revenue loss of nearly Rs 500 million or dollars six million in the last three days. The airspace restrictions are likely to remain same until next Wednesday. The focus of the task force would be to recover revenue loss by working extra sections as soon as Europe and UK air spaces are available for aircraft movement and major airports open their operations.

Meanwhile, PIA Flight Operations Central Control worked out another route over South Atlantic safe from volcanic ash and flight PK 781 Islamabad-Toronto sent last night reached Toronto 12.30pm PST on Saturday.

While, PK 782 Toronto-Karachi left Canada 2.30 pm PST through the same route, the expected time of arrival at the destination is 4:30am Sunday. Efforts are under way by the flight operations to operate flight PK 723 stranded at Paris for JFK New York this evening subject to permission from the euro air traffic controllers, to transfer the 320 passengers in transit since last three days to their destination.

Meanwhile, PIA's flights to UK and Europe cancelled on Saturday includes PK 771 Islamabad-Copenhagen-Oslo; PK772 Oslo-Copenhagen-Islamabad; PK 791 Islamabad-Birmingham; PK792 Birmingham-Islamabad; PK785 Islamabad-London; PK 786 London - Islamabad; PK 775 Islamabad-Leads; PK 776 Leads-Islamabad; PK 777 Lahore-Glasgow; PK 778 Glasgow - Lahore; PK757 Lahore -London; PK 758 London - Lahore; PK 711 Lahore -Manchester -JFK (New York) and PK712 JFK New York-Manchester- Lahore.

The flights to UK and Europe for Sunday are also cancelled which include PK787 Karachi-London, PK788 London -Karachi, PK785 Islamabad-London, PK786 London Islamabad, PK701 Islamabad-Manchester, PK702 Manchester-Islamabad, PK791 Islamabad-Birmingham, PK792 Birmingham- Islamabad and PK 769 &PK 770 Islamabad -Paris-Frankfurt and back.

PIA flight operations has taken special permission to operate its flight on Sunday PK 784 Toronto-Islamabad via JFK New York to facilitate its passengers at New York.

Passengers may call PIA Emergency Response Center for assistance and guidance on phone numbers 9221-99242352, 9221-99242332. The arrivals and departures of flights may also be checked on these numbers or the Call Center 111-786-786 before coming to airports.

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