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.

Britain paralysed by the Big Freeze

BRITAIN’s travel network has been paralysed by the latest instalment of the big freeze, leaving many cars stuck in mammoth traffic jams; sporting fixtures cancelled and frustrated passengers trapped in airport terminals.

CHAOS: Frustrated passengers vent their anger at Heathrow

Only a handful of flights have left the busiest European airport all weekend, as Heathrow was hit significantly by the snow.  However, they have been severely criticised by its lack of snow strategy and lack of communication.  For the third consecutive day, the reputation of Heathrow airport has been buried in the tons of snow and ice.  It is a national embarrassment and the transport secretary Phillip Hammond is taking a lot of stick to explain Heathrow’s halts.

With hotels fully booked up, thousands of passengers have slept on the floors of airport terminals for the weekend, with some operators like Thomson being heavily criticised by disgruntled customers for not giving their passengers blankets and pillows.  Other airport operators such as British Airways and Monarch have also been taking stick of a lack of simple supplies to stranded passengers.  Today, BAA has said that travellers should not head for Heathrow unless their flight is definitely confirmed. 

LACK: Planes are not leaving Heathrow, almost grounded

There may be a mammoth task to clear the sheet rinks of ice across the runways, but at Gatwick, they have dealt far better.  Under new owners, it puts far more scrutiny on BAA and Heathrow for being inadequately prepared.  Getting into the UK also seem to be as much of a problem as getting out, with heavy backlogs on Saturday at Birmingham airport after the luggage conveyor belts broke down.  The backlog across the country has also led to heavy disruption at Luton, Belfast, Exeter and Aberdeen airports amongst others.  Further delays and cancellations in the coming days are expected. 

It isn’t just the aviation industry that has suffered, as the trains have also been badly hit.  Today, queues of upto five hours built up outside Eurostar’s St. Pancreas station in London.  It is running a limited service, and has already said that no more tickets will be sold before Christmas Eve at the earliest.  Some London Underground tube services have been affected, but they were mainly back to normal today.  London Midland, Virgin Trains and other railways across East Anglia have also been slated for inadequate information.  Like the planes, it is advisable to check with National Rail before travelling.

The roads have also suffered a catalogue of problems, thanks to crashes, stranded cars and jack-knifed Lorries.  The M4 and M25 have been often left at a standstill and it took four hours for me to be navigated home from the University of Northampton on Saturday night.  This is a journey through the M1 to Milton Keynes that traditionally takes no more than 40 minutes.  The gritters are working around the clock, but some councils are already warning that they are running out of supplies. 

FROZEN: Heavy snow at the Emirates postponed Arsenal's game

Sporting fixtures have been practically wiped out for safety reasons.  The Premiership top of the table clash at Stamford Bridge between Chelsea and Manchester United was postponed yesterday, with games at West Brom, Blackpool, Wigan Athletic, Liverpool, Arsenal and Birmingham City all falling foul to the weather.  Tonight’s Premiership match at Eastlands goes ahead, as Manchester City aim to go top by beating Everton.  Rugby fixtures and horse racing meetings have also been severely hit, with doubts over the King George VI beating the weather at Kempton on Boxing Day. 

ALONE: A cyclist braves the bitter weather in Brighton

The amount of snow on Saturday was the heaviest that the country has seen for any December since 1990.  If the trend continues, we are set for the coldest December since 1910, when records began.  Temperatures have plummeted as low as -20 degrees in some areas of the Midlands and there are still severe weather warnings in place for Yorkshire, the North East of England and Scotland.  The shadow Home Secretary Allan Johnston thinks that Hammond should resign.  He told Sky; “On this area, don’t forget, Scotland’s transport secretary resigned.  It is a big issue when people believe the government has left them to it: ‘Get a shovel or stay at home.”  “Governing is about more than that when you hit a crisis.” 

Hammond has though been defended by the Foreign Secretary William Hague, who admitted that; “We might have to look at this again if these things are to occur frequently.”

Whatever the outcome and whoever is to blame, it seems like many families Christmas plans have been well and truly ruined.