Monday, May 30, 2011

Ash plume hits Scottish flights

24 May 2011 Last updated at 15:02 GMT Some airlines cancelled flights, while others decided to continue operating

Severe disruption at Scottish airports caused by drifting volcanic ash from Iceland is set to continue into at least the early evening.

Thousands of passengers have been affected after airlines suspended services in and out of Scotland, with ash forecast until 1900 BST.

At 1600 BST, Edinburgh Airport confirmed that there would be no more flights on Tuesday.

It said a statement would be issued later about Wednesday's flights.

Ryanair had earlier checked in passengers at Edinburgh Airport, where it told the management it intended to fly its six scheduled flights in the afternoon and evening.

But passengers who were on board have now been taken off and Ryanair has cancelled the flights. Airlines require final approval from the CAA to take off.

Ryanair had disputed whether the ash "red zone" in Scottish airspace existed, after carrying out a test flight.

But the CAA said the flight had not gone through the high contamination area.

Airport managers in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen said the flights situation was very fluid and urged passengers to contact their airlines.

Met Office projection of the ash cloud

Airports had been warned the ash plume would cover the central belt by early morning but it was now expected to drift over Edinburgh, Glasgow and Prestwick during the afternoon.

Air traffic control organisation Nats said Scotland could be affected until at least 1900 BST.

Aberdeen Airport said it expected to be out of the high density ash area from 1300 BST and it intends to resume operations.

"There will be residual delays and cancellations throughout the day as it takes time for operations to recover," an airport spokesman said.

Glasgow Airport advised all customers to check with their airline for updates, with significant disruption anticipated as high concentrations of ash was expected to enter its airspace between 1300 BST and 1900 BST. Some passengers were being taken to Manchester by bus.

Amanda McMillan, managing director of the airport, told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme: "For us the priority is to work with the airlines and understand from them what flight schedule they intend to operate and then run the airport around that flight schedule."

Ms McMillan said a "huge review", including revised protocols, after volcanic ash disrupted UK airspace last year meant planning to handle the impact took place throughout the night with airlines.

Passenger Pat Gribbon, from Renfrew, was due to travel to Majorca from Glasgow for a holiday with his wife, Rita.

He said: "Everyone has been very helpful. It's just a question of waiting. I suppose it's just one of those things. No-one can help it, but it is frustrating. I feel sorry for people with kids."

Transport Minister Keith Brown said the Scottish government's resilience team had been meeting to assess the situation. He will also be taking part in the meeting of the UK government's Cobra emergency committee.

He said: "The ash cloud from the Grimsvotn volcano is bringing disruption to Scottish airports and based on information from the air industry, there is the possibility of significant disruption to flights arriving and departing from Scottish airports as move through the afternoon and into the evening.

"We advise all members of the public planning air travel to check with their airlines for latest advice related to the impact of volcanic ash before setting out."

Ash on car Residents in parts of the Highlands have reported ash settling on cars

Highlands and Islands Airports said all morning flights to and from Inverness had been cancelled with disruption also affecting many of island airports.

Residents in the Highlands, including Inverness, Caithness and Sutherland, have reported finding their cars covered in a fine covering of brown ash.

Ryanair has objected to an order from Irish officials to ground its morning flights to and from Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen on safety grounds.

The company said it had operated a one hour "verification flight" up to 41,000ft in the "red zone" of Scottish airspace, between Prestwick, Inverness, Aberdeen and Edinburgh.

A spokesman said: "There was no visible volcanic ash cloud or any other presence of volcanic ash and the post-flight inspection revealed no evidence of volcanic ash on the airframe, wings or engines.

Continue reading the main story
The CAA can confirm that at no time did a Ryanair flight enter the notified area of high contamination ash over Scotland this morning”

End Quote CAA spokesperson "The absence of any volcanic ash in the atmosphere supports Ryanair's stated view that there is no safety threat to aircraft in this mythical 'red zone' which is another misguided invention by the UK Met Office and the CAA."

However, UK government sources questioned whether the Ryanair flight went through the ash cloud, after it was tracked on radar.

A source told the BBC that the aircraft did not go through the "red zone", where ash is at its most dense, and did not have measuring equipment on board.

A CAA spokesperson said: "The CAA can confirm that at no time did a Ryanair flight enter the notified area of high contamination ash over Scotland this morning."

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary told BBC Radio Scotland: "Bureaucrats are covering their arses. We flew through the ash cloud at 41,000ft for an hour-and-a-half."

Flight cancellations come just over a year after another volcanic eruption in Iceland caused widespread disruption across Europe, including the closure of UK airspace, amid concerns about the damage volcanic ash could cause to engine aircraft.

This year, in the UK, the decision on whether to fly or not in ash cloud conditions is down to individual airlines, although they have to apply to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for final approval.

A number of airlines are choosing not to fly through Scottish airspace on Tuesday:

British Airways has cancelled all flights to and from Glasgow and Edinburgh on TuesdayKLM cancelled flights to and from Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Newcastle as well as flights from Durham Tees Valley AirportEasyJet cancelled flights to and from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Aberdeen through until 1900 BST. It hopes to operate an Aberdeen-Luton flight laterRyanair said it was going ahead with flights from Edinburgh after its test flight, but then cancelled all Scottish flightsFlybe cancelled flights to and from Aberdeen and Inverness but it expected to resume these in the afternoonBMI said flights to and from Aberdeen were subject to delay, but all services in and out of Glasgow and Edinburgh on Tuesday were cancelled. It hopes to resume flights on Wednesday Glasgow-based Loganair has cancelled a large number flights. Only inter-island routes in Orkney are unaffected, with a small number flights to Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles also expected to fly in the afternoonEastern Airways will not be operating any services in or out of Scottish airspace

Since last year, the CAA has graded ash levels as low, medium or high, and airlines are notified if levels reach medium or high.

All British aircraft can fly in medium-density ash but the airlines need to consider whether to fly, according to risk assessments.

A CAA spokesman said the current cloud could "potentially" cause serious disruption as charts showed that the ash density below 35,000ft had reached the highest level at more than 4,000 microgrammes per cubic metre.

Map showing path of ash cloud

The Foreign Office is advising passengers to remain in regular contact with their travel agent or airline for the latest news on the status of flights and bookings.

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