EUROPEAN AIRSPACE STILL AT A STANDSTILL
Most European countries have kept their airspace either partially or entirely closed today due to the cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland.
Germany, the United Kingdom and Belgium will keep their airspace closed until 18:00 GMT and the Netherlands until 12:00 GMT, whilst Austria reopened its airspace this morning, a move also made by Italy, but subsequently reversed in the north of the country after receiving more up-to-date weather bulletins.
Sweden, meanwhile, ordered the successive opening of much of its airspace, as did Denmark, although only for the through-passage of aircraft above 11,000 feet. Norway, like France, is looking at reopening of some routes.
All French airports north of an imaginary line between Bordeaux and Nice will remain closed at least until 6am tomorrow.
This includes all Paris airports and Lyon. Those south of the line will continue to operate as normal, i.e., Nice, Marseille, Toulouse or Bordeaux, among others.
In Germany, the air safety department extended the closure of airspace until at least 18:00, a move that has attracted wide criticism from the airlines. Wolfgang Mayrhuber, chairman of Lufthansa, the biggest German airline, told TV channel “ZDF” that “there is no danger now.”
Low-cost carrier Ryanair, which operates from Charleroi airport in Belgium, has suspended most of its flights to and from Belgium, as is the case with its operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Holland, France, Germany and Poland.
Holland will keep its airspace closed until at least 12:00 GMT and Austria, whose airspace was closed on Friday, opened it again early this morning, before the first flight departed from Vienna International Airport, the largest in the country.
Britain has already started to mobilise ships from the Royal Navy to bring stranded passengers back to the UK, and airlines at the Spanish airports of El Prat (Barcelona) and Zaragoza have contracted a fleet of nearly 80 coaches to ferry transatlantic passengers to their final destinations in northern Europe.
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