Flights resume as volcanic ash cloud moves clear out over Atlantic

The Ejyafjallajokull volcano is continuing to erupt. Click on image to enlarge.

Flights in and out of Shetland resumed a normal full timetable today after a day of disruption caused yesterday by the reappearance of high-density ash from the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull.

In a statement early this morning air traffic control agency NATS said all airports in the country were able to open as of 7am thanks to the intervention of favourable wind conditons.

“The no fly zone imposed by the Civil Aviation Authority tracking the high density area of the volcanic ash cloud, has moved west overnight and has now cleared UK airspace.

“According to latest information from the Met Office, from 0700 (local) today (Thursday) all UK airfields will be available.

“We continue to maintain close dialogue with the Met Office and with the CAA, which is responsible for imposing no fly zones. We will issue any further notice as necessary.”

Jonathan Hinkles, commercial director of Loganair, said: “All Loganair services for today (Thursday 6th May) are planned to operate as scheduled. No fly zone restrictions have been removed from Scottish airspace following a change in the prevailing winds, which have taken the concentrated area of volcanic ash out to the west where it is clear of UK domestic air routes.

“Although the situation could still be subject to change depending on the weather and levels of volcanic activity in Iceland, the medium term forecasts indicate that no disruption to flights is anticipated over the next few days. In the event that circumstances change, Loganair will issue flight information updates as soon as possible thereafter. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our customers once again for their patience and understanding.”

Flights between Glasgow and Sumburgh were suspended yesterday and the Edinburgh flight redirected to Aberdeen for passengers to be bussed to the capital, with an extra flight from Aberdeen laid on last night.

The ash cloud caused eight days of disruption last month when flights across much of Europe were grounded. A re-assessment by aircraft manufacturers and regulators about safe limits eventually led to airspace being reopened.

COMMENTS(2)

Add Your Comment
  • Callum Smith

    • May 6th, 2010 16:28

    I am an avid reader of your newspaper and had to laugh to myself when reading the article on the volcanic dust/ash cloud stopping flights in and out of Scotland’s air space its only a matter of two weeks ago that I noticed on the SIC web page a planning application for a new quarry at the Scatsta Airport site to be operated by a private contractor what would be the affects of the quarry dust on helicopters and planes landing and taking off from this airport surely the planning department will not even take this application seriously when it’s a proven issue that dust and heavy partials can have devastating affects to leading part of an aircraft structure and engines thus putting life’s at risk, it’s a case of common sense has to prevail.

    REPLY
  • Jo Guiver

    • May 9th, 2010 13:01

    On 19th April we launched a survey for passengers whose travel had been
    disrupted by the grounding of northern European flights. We are trying to
    gather as much information as possible to find out how people adapted, what
    they felt about the event, the reaction of the agencies involved and the
    consequences for the passengers themselves and others in their households
    and work places. We would particularly like the views of people from parts ot the UK which are more dependent on air travel.

    As far as we know, this is the only academic study of passengers’ views and
    experiences although there have been surveys of businesses affected. We
    hope our findings will be used to inform decisions about preparing for
    other such events. To have robust findings, we need a large number of
    respondents from all sections of society affected by the flight ban. Please
    could you help spread the word about the survey (
    http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/AirCrisisSurveyITT )? There are more details
    below and I am happy to answer any further questions you have.
    With many thanks,
    Jo

    Dr Jo Guiver,

    Institute of Transport and Tourism
    University of Central Lancashire
    Preston, PR1 2HE, UK
    http://www.uclan.ac.uk/itt
    jwguiver@uclan.ac.uk
    01772 894923

    Stranded away? Trip Delayed, Cancelled?
    We would like to hear your story and views.

    A survey of people affected by the air crisis has been launched by the
    Institute of Transport and Tourism (University of Central Lancashire) .

    The survey can be found on
    http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/AirCrisisSurveyITT and the Institute is
    urging people to send the link to anyone they know who has been affected
    and to send it out through their networks.

    REPLY

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