For the first time in living memory, there is no-zone flying area in Britain, following the massive eruption of a previously dormant volcano in Iceland, which spread massive amounts of ash into the skyline. For the past 48 hours, airports across the UK and Northern Europe have been turned into parking lots, with up to half a million people affected by this air travel lockdown, which has nothing to do for once, with human elements.
Airports have closed in Sweden, Denmark, Belgium and France, leaving many passengers stranded, furious about the lack of communication and sleeping on benches, rather than comfortable hotel or holiday apartment beds. The air chaos has also had effects on other forms of transport, with EuroStar almost completely booked up and a high demand on the ferries too, with the port of Dover struggling to cope with the increased amounts of consumer traffic.
This sky lockdown has been caused due to volcanic ash from the volcano eruption, which has been erupting for nearly a month now, but nothing quite like what we’ve seen in recent days. Plus, there are no signs of this eruption ending anytime soon. All airports in the UK have shut until at least 2am tomorrow morning, and British Airways has now cancelled all flights out of Heathrow tomorrow. Only minimal services coming out of Glasgow and Irish airports, as the ash cloud descends across the UK. There have already been reports of ash falling to the ground in Northern Scotland, though the health risk is thought to be minimal. It shouldn’t cause serious harm, but health warnings are urging everyone to take precautions.
Neither recent industrial action, nor terrorism threats could do what the volcano 900 miles away has done, grounded air travel to a comprehensive halt. Safety is the paramount concern here and it is simply not safe for planes to fly through the ash smoke – otherwise their engines will either fail, stall or shutdown. The possible results would be cataclysmic to even think about it. This is the biggest shutdown since 9/11, with over 4,000 flights cancelled and more heading that route as the weekend goes on.
Travel industries have urged customers not to panic and try to understand what is happening here. Some are complaining of a lack of information, which is perfectly understandable and the disruption is likely to continue into next week as well. With the snowstorms of the start in the year, plus the recent British Airways strikes and the threatened rail strikes, 2010 is turning into a miserable year for the travel industry.
