Europe Airlines call for flight resumption
The International Air Transport Association [IATA] has urged governments to rethink decisions to close large swathes of European airspace because of the Icelandic volcano’s ash cloud.
Diego Lopez Garrido, the Spanish secretary of state for European affairs, said half of the flights planned in Europe could take place on Monday.
“We are far enough into this crisis to express our dissatisfaction on how governments have managed it, with no risk assessment, no consultation and no leadership,” said Giovanni Bisignani, the IATA director general and chief executive. “This crisis is costing airlines at least $200 million a day in lost revenues and the European economy has already suffered billions of dollars in lost business. Read more
Katla volcano can also be cause of worry with Eyjafjallajokull
Researchers are not sure for how long Eyjafjallajokull, the Iceland volcano will continue its eruption. Since people can’t travel by air, there has been a mad rush to book train tickets now.Eyjafjallajokull glacier went on for six months at a stretch. That eruption also caused a glacial lake to outburst, thus resulting in a flood. Researchers are also worried about the Katla volcano which is situated almost 16 kms away from Eyjafjallajokull.It has been observed that both the volcanoes erupted together in 1612 and again from 1821 to 1823.
Eyjafjallajokull volcano ash cloud: dust falls across UK
The World Health Organization (WHO) today has declared that people with breathing problems might be more vulnerable to these ash particles if they come down to the ground.It is raising fears over the danger posed to people with breathing difficulties.
Dust has been detected as far south as Swindon and Brize Norton, with a thin layer also found at monitoring stations near Peterborough, Leeds and Stoke on Trent.
Hopes that flights would resume have been dashed after the “worsening” volcanic ash cloud led to a further ban on UK flights until at least 1am on Sunday.
A geologist has commented that it might go on for even a month.
NASA has collaborated with other agencies for using satellite monitoring to detect the movement and force of the volcanic ash.
Volcanic ash grounds flights for third day
Large parts of Europe enforced no-fly rulings for a third day on Saturday because of a huge ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano that has caused the worst air travel chaos since the Sept. 11 attacks. Severe disruption of European air traffic was expected on Saturday, aviation officials said. Airports in Britain, France, Germany and the Netherlands remained closed and flights were set to be grounded in Hungary and parts of Romania.
The plume that floated through the upper atmosphere, where it could wreak havoc on jet engines and airframes, was costing airlines hundreds of millions of dollars and has thrown travel plans into disarray on both sides of the Atlantic.