Volcano No Longer Spewing as European Flights Resume

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Air traffic over Europe was on track to return to about 75% of normal capacity Wednesday, aviation officials said, but they warned that clearing the backlog of flights could take days.

The continent's biggest airports were expected to be open and running flights by the end of the day. That included London's Heathrow Airport, one of the world's busiest hubs, which the British aviation authority allowed to reopen late Tuesday.

Problems posed by the volcanic ash spewed by the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland had not entirely disappeared, however. A corner of Scottish airspace remained sealed off, with potential that the closure could spread further south.

The restoration of air service came as welcome news to thousands of passengers who have been stranded far from home since last Thursday. Airlines were also relieved at the lifting of the restrictions over Europe, which a trade group said cost the industry as much as $1.7 billion.

The regional aviation agency Eurocontrol said it expected 21,000 flights through European airspace would take place Wednesday, 75% of the usual tally of 28,000.

But a full return to normal will take days as airlines scramble to get grounded planes into position across the continent and to accommodate passengers whose flights were canceled. Eurocontrol said 100,000 flights have been canceled since Thursday.

The gradual easing of the lockdown of European airspace came amid heavy pressure by airlines to get their idled fleets back in the air. Aviation authorities said safety remains of paramount concern, but growing gaps in the ash cloud allowed for a rollback of some of the flight restrictions.

Eyjafjallajokull continues to erupt, belching dust and glass particles that could cause jet engines to seize up. More grit has been creeping south and east, and air traffic regulators say restrictions on airspace could be revived.

Meteorologists say, however, that the most recent plumes of ash are not reaching such high altitudes as before and that winds strong enough to disperse the ash could pick up in a few days.

Volcanic Ash Stops More Europe Flights

Updated information from National Geographic regarding the continuing cancellation of flights to and from Europe, due to an Icelandic Volcano erupting.

First we have H1N1, then we have earthquakes and mudslides that have rocked the world, and now we have our second batch of cancelled flights due to volcanic eruptions, the first happening in the Pacific ocean, cancelling flights to Japan. What will happen next?


James Owen in London
for National Geographic News
Published April 15, 2010

Airline flights to, from, and within northern Europe have been cancelled today because of fears that a vast cloud of volcanic ash spreading from an Iceland volcano could bring down passenger planes (map of northern Europe).

British airports are completely closed to civilian aircraft following latest eruptions from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano. (Pictures: Iceland Volcano Erupts, Under Ice This Time.)

Thousands of flights have likewise been cancelled to and from Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark as affected countries close airspace in response to the volcanic cloud, which is currently drifting at altitudes of 25,000 to 30,000 feet (7,620 to 9,140 meters).

(See aerial pictures of the Iceland volcano's earlier eruption.)

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