Volcanic Eruption In Iceland, Uk Flights Cancelled, Some Airports Closed

[Raphael Meade]

i got the first BA flight to LA out of heathrow yesterday morning... was only about 1/4 full!! very strange seeing there's so many people stranded, etc....

 

[ROSM]

I got back from boston this morning having done a complete round the world in 12 days (london to Hong Kong, Hong Kong to New york and then onto boston before getting to london)

Time to see the kids now

 

[chimneys]

as per Bozza's comments, cancelled flights go to the back of the queue and earliest I was likely to get out of HK direct back to UK was 29th as flights up to then were full or taken up with people who are down route from australia.

Not how it worked for me. Flew back from Sydney on the first BA flight back to UK from Aus, landing this morning (having supposed to have gone back last Friday). They flew the "stranded" passangers back instead of those booked yesterday (and rightly so!!). When I say "stranded", Mr Walsh and his team put me, my wife and kids up in a suite in a 5 star hotel for 5 nights at Olympic Park, Sydney on full board (and we were economy)!! It was a real struggle!

Promised I would never fly with them again after all that stress with the pre Easter strike, but having given us an all expenses paid 5 night luxury stay in Sydney (value over £1500), and got us on the first flight back, the view has changed somewhat!! All other airlines in Sydney just abandoned their customers.

 

[CHAPPERS]

More from Eyjafjallajokull - The Big Picture - Boston.com

 

[Dover]

What fantastic photos. Cheers Max.

 

[Raphael Meade]

Promised I would never fly with them again after all that stress with the pre Easter strike, but having given us an all expenses paid 5 night luxury stay in Sydney (value over £1500), and got us on the first flight back, the view has changed somewhat!! All other airlines in Sydney just abandoned their customers.

Too right. BA were giving out blankets, etc to customers stranded/f***ed over by other airlines at gatwick earlier in the week.

top marks all round and think they've done themselves a world of good after all the recent striking bullshit.

 

[Yoda]

Landed back at Gatwick in the early hours of this morning.

 

[robinsonsgrin]

crossing everything ... legs, fingers....eyes...to get on ryanshite on sat morning to get home from malta...............
wasnt a novelty in the first place - now its worn very thin...inlike me who has had to survive on crap grub.
can feel a salad month ahead.....

k

 

[NS Herald]

Too right. BA were giving out blankets, etc to customers stranded/f***ed over by other airlines at gatwick earlier in the week.

top marks all round and think they've done themselves a world of good after all the recent striking bullshit.

I wouldn't be too OTT of our beloved BA.

Friends of mine flew back today from Paris having been stuck in Cyprus for a week and finally came back via Istanbul to Barcelona - £500 each (and they lost their baggage!!) - car to Perpignon - 275 eurris - train to Paris £600 each - night in hotel - flight to Heathrow care of BA ANOTHER £500 each

There should be an inquiry into the profiteering of these companies who have raped these poor sods who found themselves stranded through no fault of their own

 

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

More from Eyjafjallajokull - The Big Picture - Boston.com

These are amazing, I want the 9th one framed and on my wall.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

More from Eyjafjallajokull - The Big Picture - Boston.com

WOW!!

 

[Mtoto]

At this moment, I'm on the train from Holyhead to Euston, having decided not to risk a flight from Dublin tonight, and I'm definitely starting to warm to this whole not-getting-on-a-plane business. Ferry from Dublin took only two hours, watched gannets and cormorants from the back deck for most of the way, and I'd also forgotten how stunning the north Wales countryside is. Sea on one side, hills on the other, plus a socket to charge the laptop and free wi-fi. You don't get any of that on Aer Lingus.

Realise it's been truly grim for a lot of people, of course, but an ill wind and all that...

 

[ben andrews' girlfriend]

More from Eyjafjallajokull - The Big Picture - Boston.com

Incredible photos. Think this was my favourite:

Looks Mount Doom-esque!

 

[KZNSeagull]

We have a group of stranded school kids from Worcester staying at my son's school - they should have flown back a week ago and have been told that they will not get a flight back until the 3rd May at the earliest!!

 

[skipper734]

BA has delivered Jnr. and his Mum back from Los Angeles. A Week late in a nice Hotel.
He wouln't have missed much schooling, as eight of his Teachers are missing as well.

 

[surrey jim]

Possiblity of more closures
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8658738.stm

All flights in and out of Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic have been grounded from 0700 BST because of fresh risks from volcanic ash. Airspace over Scotland's Outer Hebrides was closed, affecting Stornoway, Tiree, Barra and Benbecula airports, with Campeltown in Argyll also closed.
Flights in the rest of the UK are operating as normal.
An ash plume is drifting south from the same Icelandic volcano that wreaked havoc to European air travel in April.
Flights over Europe were banned for six days last month because of fears of the effect of volcanic ash on plane engines.
The decision to lift the restrictions followed safety tests that showed the engines could cope in areas of low density ash.
The fresh disruption comes as European Union transport ministers are meeting in Brussels to discuss ways to improve air traffic management in the wake of last month's events.
Last week a spokeswoman for EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas said that had there been more co-ordination at EU level, air traffic could have resumed up to three days earlier.
In the Irish Republic, aviation authorities have re-imposed a ban from 0700 to 1300 BST (0600-1200 GMT) on Tuesday.
The IAA (Irish Aviation Authority) said flights from the UK and continental Europe flying across the airspace would not be affected.
And in the UK, the Civil Aviation Authority said all Northern Ireland airspace would be closed from 0700 BST.
Belfast International, Belfast City and City of Derry airports will all be closed until further notice.
The ban disrupted the plans of Conservative leader David Cameron, who had been due to make his first campaign visit to Northern Ireland.
Earlier, the CAA closed airspace over Scotland's Outer Hebrides from 1800 BST on Monday, disrupting flights to and from Barra and Benbecula.
Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd said flights to and from Tiree and Campbeltown were also suspended.
In a statement, the CAA said the decision followed consultation with the UK Met Office and Nats, the air traffic control service.
It said airspace had been closed because ash concentrations exceeded the levels agreed as safe by engine manufacturers.
"The CAA is closely monitoring the situation and will update the advice to operators and passengers as latest updates are produced by the Met Office," it added.
Nats told the BBC it would review the situation at 1200 BST.
Liam Dutton of the BBC Weather Centre said the concentration of ash was expected to become thinner by the middle part of the day.
IAA chief executive Eamon Brennan said he was hopeful the flight restrictions could be eased later on Tuesday.
"We are quite optimistic that it will dissipate and we are quite optimistic for Dublin and for Shannon tomorrow afternoon but we will make a reassessment for that in the morning."
The situation will be reviewed by the IAA at 0800 GMT (0900 BST), Reuters news agency reported.
Irish Ferries said it had space on services between Ireland and the UK as well as Ireland and France.
Hundreds of flights have been affected:

• All Aer Lingus flights to and from Dublin, Cork Shannon and Belfast airports to the UK and Europe scheduled before 1300 have been cancelled. Most transatlantic flights will operate.
• All Ryanair flights into and out of the Irish Republic and Belfast in Northern Ireland until 1400 have been cancelled
• Aer Arann services to and from Derry and Donegal airports were cancelled on Monday night
• EasyJet warned flights departing from Scotland and Northern Ireland on Tuesday could face disruption
• BAA, which operates six UK airports including Heathrow, Stansted and Glasgow, is advising passengers heading for Ireland to contact their airlines for advice.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Bad news, potentially, for a wedding I am attending this week. Plenty of Scots heading down and a few from Ireland.

 

[surrey jim]

looks to be a false alarm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8658738.stm

All flights in and out of Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic will resume at 1300 BST after being grounded owing to a fresh volcanic ash threat. Airspace over Scotland's Outer Hebrides will reopen at the same time after closures to Tiree, Barra and Benbecula airports plus Campbeltown in Argyll.
Services to and from Northern Ireland and the Republic were cancelled from 0700 BST by aviation authorities.
Ash is drifting from the same Icelandic volcano that disrupted travel in April.
Flights over Europe were banned for six days last month because of fears of the effect of volcanic ash on plane engines.
Passengers planning to travel to and from the affected airports have been advised to check that their flight is still running.

In the rest of the UK, schedules are operating as normal.
The decision to lift the restrictions followed safety tests that showed the engines could cope in areas of low density ash.
The fresh disruption comes as European Union transport ministers are meeting in Brussels to discuss ways to improve air traffic management in the wake of last month's events.
Last week a spokeswoman for EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas said that if there had been more co-ordination at EU level, air traffic could have resumed up to three days earlier during the previous disruption.

On Tuesday, the IAA (Irish Aviation Authority) said it had cleared Irish airports to open for full operations from 1300 BST and Dublin, Shannon, Cork, Knock, Donegal, Waterford and Kerry could resume normal operations.
It added that flights from the UK and continental Europe flying across the airspace would not be affected.
And in the UK, the Civil Aviation Authority said all Northern Ireland airspace would be closed from 0700 BST until 1300 BST with Belfast International, Belfast City and City of Derry airports all affected.
The CAA said that the affected Scottish airports were expected to re-open in the afternoon.
Airspace over Scotland's Outer Hebrides was closed from 1800 BST on Monday, disrupting flights to and from Barra and Benbecula.
Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd said flights to and from Tiree and Campbeltown were also suspended.
In a statement, the CAA warned that the situation remained "very dynamic".
It added: "Passengers expecting to travel from the impacted airports should contact their airlines to confirm their flight is operating."
The ban disrupted the plans of Conservative leader David Cameron, who had been due to make his first campaign visit to Northern Ireland.
Mr Cameron is now expected to make the journey by helicopter.
Liam Dutton of the BBC Weather Centre said the concentration of ash was expected to become thinner by the middle part of the day.
The Natural Environment Research Council said it would send a plane, which is used jointly with the Met Office, to look at the ash cloud at around 1100 BST. It is expected to be in the air for about four to five hours.
In a statement, the IAA said winds from the north could cause further problems later in the week.
"Our decision to close earlier today was based solely on the safety risks to crews and passengers as a result of the drift south of the volcanic ash cloud caused by the north-easterly winds," it added.
Irish Ferries said it had space on services between Ireland and the UK as well as Ireland and France.
Hundreds of flights have been affected:

• All Aer Lingus flights to and from Dublin, Cork Shannon and Belfast airports to the UK and Europe scheduled before 1300 BST have been cancelled. Most transatlantic flights will operate
• All Ryanair flights into and out of the Irish Republic and Belfast in Northern Ireland until 1400 BST have been cancelled. Ryanair's Stephen McNamara said he was "confident" services would resume after that time
• Aer Arann services to and from Derry and Donegal airports were cancelled on Monday night
• EasyJet warned flights departing from Scotland and Northern Ireland on Tuesday could face disruption
• BAA, which operates six UK airports including Heathrow, Stansted and Glasgow, is advising passengers heading for Ireland to contact their airlines for advice
• Edinburgh and Glasgow had a Continental departure and arrival service between each airport and Newark cancelled
• Loganair said its flights to and from Islay and Campbeltown were cancelled on Tuesday and services to Benbecula, Tiree and Stornoway were delayed until further notice.

 

[surrey jim]

15 Spanish airports closed now - predicted that UK airports may close later,

 

[Beach Hut]

BBC News - Volcanic ash cloud shuts Spanish airports