Volcanic ash grounds flights across much of Europe

[Guest guest]

That's ok, the airlines will get a bail out.

Some are saying that problems from this volcano could go on for months yet. I'm still waiting for the poison gas to come out of it.

In a message dated 4/16/2010 2:34:07 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, no_reply writes:

Volcanic ash grounds flights across much of Europe

[Guest guest]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/100416/world/international_us_europe_air

Volcanic ash grounds flights across much of Europe

Module body

1 hour, 15 minutes ago

By Holden

LONDON (Reuters) - A huge ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano spread out across

Europe on Friday causing air travel chaos on a scale not seen since the

September 11 attacks and costing airlines hundreds of millions of dollars.

Significant disruption of European air traffic was expected on Saturday because

of the dangers posed by volcanic ash drifting from Iceland, aviation officials

said. Airports in much of Britain, France and Germany remained closed and

flights were set to be grounded in Hungary and parts of Romania.

" I would think Europe was probably experiencing its greatest disruption to air

travel since 9/11, " a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority, Britain's

aviation regulator, said.

" In terms of closure of airspace, this is worse than after 9/11. The disruption

is probably larger than anything we've probably seen. "

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks on Washington and New York, U.S.

airspace was closed for three days and European airlines were forced to halt all

transatlantic services.

Disruption from the volcanic ash eruption in Iceland is costing airlines more

than $200 million a day, the air industry body IATA said.

" At current levels of disruption, IATA's initial and conservative estimate of

the financial impact on airlines is in excess of $200 million per day in lost

revenues, " the International Air Transport Association said in a statement.

Vulcanologists say the ash could cause problems to air traffic for up to six

months if the eruption continues, but even if it short-lived the financial

impact on airlines could be significant.

The fallout hit airline shares on Friday with Lufthansa, British Airways, Air

Berlin, Air France-KLM, Iberia and air down between 1.4 and 3.0 percent.

Castelveter, a spokesman with the Air Transport Association of America

trade group, said U.S. airlines had canceled at least 170 flights to and from

Europe.

MOUNTING COSTS

The flight cancellations would cost carriers such as British Airways and

Lufthansa about 10 million pounds ($16 million) a day, transport analyst

McNeill said.

" To lose that sum of money isn't a very pleasant experience but it's of limited

commercial significance as well, " he told BBC TV.

" A couple of days like this won't matter too much. If it goes on for weeks,

that's a different story. "

In France, state-controlled airports operator Aeroports de Paris faced losses of

5 million euros a day or more, analysts said.

Joe Sultana, head of network operations at European air control agency

Eurocontrol, said the situation was unprecedented.

" We understand the economic impact, both to the airlines and the general

European economy, but safety comes first, " he said.

The volcano began erupting on Wednesday for the second time in a month from

below the Eyjafjallajokull glacier, hurling a plume of ash 6 to 11 km (4 to 7

miles) into the atmosphere.

Officials said it was still spewing magma and although the eruption could abate

in the coming days, ash would continue drifting into the skies of Europe.

Volcanic ash contains tiny particles of glass and pulverized rock that can

damage engines and airframes.

In addition to travel problems, health officials warned that the volcanic ash

could also prove harmful to those with breathing difficulties.

In 1982, a British Airways jumbo jet lost power in all its engines when it flew

into an ash cloud over Indonesia, gliding toward the ground before it was able

to restart its engines.

The incident prompted the aviation industry to rethink the way it prepared for

ash clouds.

PLUME DRIFTING

In Brussels, European aviation control officials told a news conference that

some 12,000 to 13,000 flights were likely to operate in European airspace on

Friday, compared with about 29,500 normally. The ash was expected to spread

further south and east.

An official at the World Meteorological Organization said it was impossible to

say when flights would resume.

" We can only predict the time that flights will resume after the eruption has

stopped, but for as long as the eruption is still going on and still leading to

a significant eruption, we cannot say, " said Scylla Sillayo, a senior official

in the WMO's aeronautical meteorology unit.

Polish officials said Sunday's funeral for President Lech Kaczynski and his wife

who were killed in a plane crash last Saturday looked set to go ahead as

planned.

German Chancellor Merkel, returning from a trip to the United States, was

diverted to Portugal and was expected to spend the night in Lisbon.

The air problems have proved a boon for other transport firms. All 58 Eurostar

trains between Britain and Europe were operating full, carrying some 46,500

passengers, and a spokeswoman said they would consider adding more services.

London taxi firm Lee said it had taken requests for journeys to Paris,

Milan, Zurich and Salzburg in Austria.

(Reporting by London, Geneva, Dublin, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Reykjavik and

Berlin newsrooms; Editing by Roddy)