Airline passenger news and views

There will be many people who justifiably had little or no idea where Iceland was prior to the impact of its massive debt crisis. Having established itself on the world’s stage, Iceland now seems destined to become even more famous for its volcanic ash.

This weekend, air travel in northern Europe has almost ceased to exist. Airlines have been forced to cancel flights and thousands of travelers face the ensuing misery. Today, the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) extended the suspension of flights with a warning of problems lasting into next week.

The problem started on Thursday with ash from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano spreading skywards over northern Europe and rapidly affecting Scotland and Northern Ireland. NATS offered some hope of short windows of clear air but this has been of only limited assistance to the beleaguered airlines.

A BA spokesperson told this flights reporter that there could be a complete shutdown of all UK airspace. Without a doubt, the impact of this event will cause severe problems for stranded travelers and for the wider transport systems. As an indicator of the problems ahead, Ryanair announced the cancellation of all flights in the area until at least 1pm on Monday.

The Civil Aviation Authority, Met Office and NATS were yesterday advising the transport minister Lord Adonis to expect significant disruption to most UK air services for at least the next 48 hours. Steady high pressure, which has brought otherwise good weather causes the ash cloud to remain stationary and there is little sign of the change of weather needed to blow it away.

The view from NATS is that this is first and foremost a safety issue. The situation is being reviewed constantly and windows are being identified where some takeoffs and landings are possible. However, “even if the skies above the airport are clear, the en-route situation can still present too much of a risk” said their spokesperson.

Although the volcano continues to erupt, volcanologists said the eruption was less explosive than when it started on Wednesday but the airborne ash remains destructive to jet engines. The ash should gradually fall from the original height of 8,000 feet to nearer to 3,000 feet and, from there, should disperse into the sea or onto land. The only question is when.