UPDATE: Scottish skies to open overnight
Published: 20/04/2010 - Filed under: News »
Certain flights will be allowed above Scottish and Northern Irish airspace from this evening, although NATs says the situation "will continue to be variable".
The latest statement from NATs (released at 1500) advises:
“The situation regarding the volcanic eruption in Iceland remains dynamic and the latest information from the Met Office shows that the situation will continue to be variable.
"Based on the latest Met Office information, part of Scottish and Northern Irish airspace including Aberdeen, Inverness and Edinburgh airports will continue to be available from 1900 today to 0100 tomorrow, Wednesday 21 April, and also south to Newcastle Airport.
"Glasgow and Teesside airports will additionally become available in this time period. Restrictions will remain in place over the rest of UK airspace below 20,000ft.
"Flights above the ash cloud are now permitted in the UK; between 1900 today and 0100 tomorrow, this will enable aircraft movements above 20,000ft in UK airspace.
"We will continue to monitor Met Office information and the situation is likely to change during the course of the day. We will make a further statement at approximately 2100 today."
British Airways, which yesterday put the cost of the disruptions and resulting loss of business at £15-20 million per day, is not operating any short haul flights today.
“We were planning to operate short haul flights scheduled to depart from 7pm, but these have now been cancelled,” the airline said this morning.
“We are still hoping to operate long haul flights which are scheduled to depart after 4pm on Tuesday 20 April, however this remains subject to the full and permanent opening of airspace.”
Eurocontrol, the European organisation governing air safety, last night said “air traffic control services are not being provided to civil aircraft in the major part of European airspace.”
“This includes Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, northern Italy, Romania, Slovenia, Switzerland, parts of Ukraine and the UK,” Eurocontrol said.
“In some of these areas the upper airspace has been made available, depending on the observed and forecasted area of possible ash contamination. However, it is difficult to access this airspace as in most cases the surrounding area is not available for flights.”
Airline statements will be posted here as and when Business Traveller receives them.
For more information visit nats.co.uk, and passengers are advised to contact their airline.
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To see a live map (updated every 10 seconds) showing the aircraft currently flying above Europe, click here. Image below captured at 1515 today.
Source: flightradar24.com
For the latest updates from the Met Office, click here.
Source: metoffice.gov.uk
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COMMENTS »
BusinessTraveller - 20/04/2010 10:07
AER LINGUS STATEMENT
Aer Lingus Cancels All Flights Tuesday 20 April
The plume of volcanic ash emanating from Iceland has lead to the continued closure of Irish airspace. As a result all Aer Lingus flights have been cancelled today, Tuesday 20th April. Aer Lingus regrets the severe disruption this is causing our customers.
Customers whose flights have been cancelled may change their booking free of charge on aerlingus.com or avail of a full refund via the refund request facility.
Aer Lingus Operations continue to monitor the progress of the situation and customers will be updated via aerlingus.com
BusinessTraveller - 20/04/2010 10:55
EASYJET STATEMENT
Issued 20 April 2010 - 11:30hrs
Easyjet travel update - Icelandic volcano ash cloud
Due to the uncertainty of the ongoing closure of air space in large parts of Europe, easyJet flights to / from Northern Europe, including the United Kingdom will be cancelled until 01:00hrs GMT on Wednesday 21 April. Safety is the airline’s top priority and we are working closely with regulators and the Government to ensure we can resume flying as soon as possible.
A limited number of flights will continue to operate in Southern Europe, and passengers who are booked to travel with easyJet are advised to visit easyJet.com before travelling to the airport.
Passengers who are booked to travel on a cancelled flight should not travel to the airport but should instead arrange either a full refund or a free transfer to another flight on the same route within 30 days of the original flight date through easyjet.com.
BusinessTraveller - 20/04/2010 12:16
BA STATEMENT
Released 1300 Tuesday April 20
Despite the fact that airspace over most European countries is open, UK airspace remains effectively closed.
With other UK airlines, British Airways is working with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to provide data that would enable the Authority to complete a risk assessment relating to the operation of aircraft in UK airspace.
We hope that on the basis of the data provided by the industry, the CAA will be in a position to direct National Air Traffic Services (NATS) to reopen UK airspace and allow British Airways to operate flights into and out of the UK.
We will only operate flights where we have assessed the situation to be safe in accordance with all our normal operating procedures, which are based on many years of experience of operating in areas of volcanic activity around the world.
We deeply regret the great inconvenience caused to our customers as a result of NATS' decision to close UK airspace over the last six days.
We hope to reach a position soon where we can begin repatriating customers in large numbers, and we are planning to operate a number of inbound longhaul flights today, subject to airspace restrictions.
The continuing restrictions have forced us to cancel our earlier plans to operate some shorthaul and some longhaul departures from Heathrow today.
We understand the frustration our customers feel and we thank them for their patience. We assure them we are doing everything we can to resolve this situation.
BusinessTraveller - 20/04/2010 12:56
IBERIA STATEMENT
Iberia resumes its flights to Northern Italy. Madrid, April 20 2010
An Iberia flight will depart from Madrid to Milan at 16.00 h. This evening two other aircraft will fly to that destination and the airline’s normal operation to the Italian city will resume.
At 16:10 another flight will leave from Madrid to Venice and it is expected that a second flight will fly to that airport at 19:45.
It is also planned that Iberia Regional / Air Nostrum flights to Bologna, Turin and Genoa operate this evening.
Iberia will operate today an extra flight to Vienna (apart from the two scheduled ones).
The first flights to Paris have already taken off. Iberia will operate today 7 flights to the French capital, carrying around 1,400 passengers.
Iberia Group (Iberia and Iberia Regional/Air Nostrum) have cancelled 69 flights today – 822 from last Saturday -, as some airports are still closed.
Germany, Copenhagen, the United Kingdom and Ireland are still affected by flight restrictions.
The airline has also requested to resume its flights to London, as soon as Heathrow airport reopens – possibly this afternoon.
Domestic and long haul flights, as well as the Iberia’s frequencies to Africa are operating normally.
Customers booked to or from any of the destinations affected by the air space closure are kindly requested not to go to the airport, if their flights haven’t been confirmed.
The airline has increased the number of personnel attending its call centers and recommends its customers to call only in case of urgency.
Flight status can be checked through Iberia’s website, Arrivals and Departures.
Clients holding tickets with Iberia code, but operated by a different airline, are required to contact the operating carrier for further information.
BusinessTraveller - 20/04/2010 14:05
FLYBE STATEMENT
Travel Update - Tuesday 20th April at 14:35
With regret, Flybe has cancelled all remaining services for today, Tuesday 20th April.
This is due to the continued application of the current methodology for determining flight safety resulting in large swathes of UK airspace, including that about Scotland and Northern Ireland, having again been closed, at 1300.
Flybe's aircraft are positioned where they should be, our crews are under starter’s orders and our passengers are desperate to fly but we are unable to do so without official approval from National Air Traffc Services.
A decision concerning flights for tomorrow (Wednesday 21st April) is expected to be taken by 1700 today.
Passengers should not go to their airport of departure until further advice is received.
Flybe advises travellers to continue checking www.flybe.com on a regular basis for further updates.
BusinessTraveller - 20/04/2010 14:34
BA STATEMENT
We will not be able to operate any shorthaul services on Tuesday 20 April.
Unfortunately we have now had to cancel ALL longhaul services departing from the UK on Tuesday 20 April as well as ALL inbound longhaul flights due to arrive before 12:00 UK local time tomorrow.
Online check-in is suspended.
BusinessTraveller - 20/04/2010 14:36
RYANAIR STATEMENT
Update 11:30hrs - 20 April
Ryanair, today (Tues 20th April) confirm that based on current meteorological forecasts, and the continuing emission of volcanic ash into the atmosphere over Iceland, it has decided to cancel all scheduled flights to/from the UK, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Holland, France, Germany, Poland, North Italy and the Baltic States until 1300hrs on Wed 21 April. Ryanair flights from Spain, the Canary and Baleric islands, the south of Italy (including Rome, Sardinia and Sicily), Malta and North Africa will continue to operate just domestic and southbound routes. This advice is based on the current stable weather trends which continue to blow potentially dangerous volcanic ash across the British Isles, Scandinavia and Europe. Any changes will be notified on this page.
All flights to/from the following countries are now cancelled until 13:00hrs Wednesday (21st April)
UK, IRELAND, DENMARK, FINLAND, NORWAY, SWEDEN, BELGIUM, HOLLAND, FRANCE, GERMANY, POLAND, LITHUANIA, LATVIA, CROTIA AND CZECH REPUBLIC.
All flights to/from the following airports in Northern Italy are cancelled until 13:00hrs Wednsday (21st April):
MILAN BERGAMO, TURIN, VERONA (BRESCIA), VENICE (TREVISO), TRIESTE, GENOA, BOLOGNA AND PISA.
BusinessTraveller - 20/04/2010 14:40
BMI STATEMENT
Bmi have cancelled all flights to and from UK airports until 23:59 BST 20 April. Last updated 20 Apr 2010 15:00 BST
The volcanic eruption in Iceland continues to cause disruption to flights, with Bmi services cancelled until 23:59 BST Tuesday 20 April.
Customers are advised to visit the Flight Status page for travel updates and individual flight status prior to travelling to the airport.
Safety is Bmi's number one priority and the decision to cancel flights is based on continuing advice from the UK Met Office and NATS (air traffic control), who are tracking a cloud of ash which is moving through UK airspace and affecting all airlines. For further details of which flights have been cancelled please visit the Flight Status page.
If your flight is cancelled you're entitled to a full refund. If you choose to rebook you can do so within three weeks for travel within two months. Normal refund conditions apply. To apply for your refund or to rebook, please call 0844 8484 888 (UK) or (01) 4073036 (Ireland).
If you are calling from the UK and are concerned about a British national stranded overseas please call the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) advice line on 020 7008 0000. If you are in Ireland please call the Irish Consular Crisis Centre telephone number on +353 1 408 2999.
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