The list of European airports forced to shut down due to the volcanic ash from Iceland, snaking across Europe, has increased.
The German hubs of Frankfurt, Frankfurt-Hahn (Ryanair’s base), Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen, Hanover, Muenster/Osnabruek, Dusseldorf and Cologne join a line up that already includes Ireland, the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia and the north of France, including all Paris airports and parts of Poland, including Warsaw airport.
The Russian news agency, Itar-Tass also reported that the air space of Lithuania, Latvia and Kaliningrad was also closed.
According to the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, 11,000 flights will take place today in European airspace, a contrast to a normal day when the usual is 28,000 flights. Yesterday, 15 April, there were 20,334 flights, the agency said.
Forecasts suggest that the cloud of volcanic ash is continuing to move east and south-east, with the impact to continue for at least the next 24 hours.
For more details, visit www.eurocontrol.int/corporate/public/news
Margie T Logarta