Volcanic ash cloud returns

LONG: Could be a frustrating night for many passengers

MISERY faces thousands of airline travellers yet again, as the volcanic ash cloud over Iceland returns to haunt people again.  The latest eruption, which occurred on Sunday, caused misery for millions of passengers last year.  Although it is believed to not have the same impact as it did in 2010, there is still plenty of disruption and delays particularly today for many passengers.  Tonight, a number of these will face the severe possibility of sleeping on the floors of airport terminals across the country yet again.

     The ash cloud is across all of England, but it is Central Scotland that has been the worst affected part of the UK today.  Most flights in and out from Edinburgh and Glasgow airports were cancelled, as those delayed were forced to either wait around, or to be diverted onto coaches to airports in the North of England that weren’t as badly hit.  Newcastle airport was one of those not so fortunate.  Easy Jet and Ryanair have cancelled approximately 75 per cent of all Scottish bound flights, but Ryanair are furious with the cancellations they’ve had to make.  They attempted to defy the ash cloud today; the Irish airliner claiming that a test flight made earlier this morning showed ‘no evidence of volcanic ash on the wings or engines’ of its test aircraft.  It’s chairman has accused the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) of incompetence.  In the end, it was the Irish Aviation Authority who forced Ryanair to back down on safety grounds.

     The transport secretary Phillip Hammond has responded to those claims made by Ryanair;

“The CAA can confirm that at no time did a Ryanair flight enter the notified area of high contamination ash over Scotland this morning.  My information is that the Ryanair jet did not in fact fly into any of the ‘red zones’ designated by the CAA.”  He told Sky News.

     It isn’t just the general public affected.  Barcelona have decided to travel earlier than initially planned to London.  They will touch down at Heathrow airport this evening, to avoid being caught up in the ash cloud chaos before Saturday’s UEFA Champions League final against Manchester United.  Barack Obama was forced to arrive in the UK 24 hours earlier than initially anticipated, cutting short his state visit to Ireland in the process.  The Met Office predicts most of the ash cloud will have left the UK by tomorrow lunchtime, although this depends on the latest ferocity of the eruptions on the Icelandic volcano.

    It might not be about to create the mayhem it did last year, but the Icelandic volcano is back as a factor in travel plans and many stranded passengers face a long and frustrating evening.

Kiss Flights Demise Add To The Growing Travel Pain

Last week saw more misery for those passengers who wanted to get away before autumn sets in.  Kiss Flights became the third travel operator to go bust, following the after effects of the recession and the eruption of the Icelandic volcano back in April.

More than 70,000 people have been affected by the collapse of the travel operator last Tuesday, which specialised in sending travellers off to the Canary Islands, Egypt, Greece and Turkey.  Around 13,000 customers are abroad with the company, although all are set to return home under the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority).  However, delays maybe expected.  Refunds will be accepted for those who had booked flights with the doomed operator, though not for accommodation. 

The chief executive of Flight Options, the owner of Kiss Flights is devastated by the collapse, blaming the demise on late bookings, as well as the fallout from the volcanic ash disruption.  Kiss Flights catered for many of the same routes as the recently collapsed Goldtrail Holidays.  This means that some holidaymakers may be affected for a second time this summer.  Last Friday, Sun4u also collapsed, leaving 16,000 customers stuck abroad.  With these latest demises, I would expect more independent companies to go bust in the near future.

Although the Unite Union and BAA recently agreed a deal, preventing a potentially horrendous Bank Holiday strike which would have seen the shutdown of six British airports, including Stanstead and Heathrow, the aviation industry has taken a significant battering in 2010.  The effects from the Icelandic volcano are hitting hard and the fallout may only just be beginning for many in insecure jobs, and many more thousands of holidaymakers who must be feeling the pain.  

Icelandic Ash Leaves Air Travel In Shutdown Mode

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.