New Ash cloud about to shut down UK airspace

THE return of the volcanic ash cloud early today shut down airports around the country amid fears flights could be grounded for days.

No flights will land or take off from Irish airports between 7am and 1pm because of the risk posed by the ash to aircraft engines.

The no-fly zone was imposed after the ash plume from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland drifted south yesterday forcing the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) to ban all flights in and out of the country.

Experts said weather conditions would have a huge bearing on how long planes were grounded. Met Eireann said the plume could hover over Ireland until Friday and that would mean chaos for tens of thousands of passengers for days to come.

As many as 439 flights are due in and out of Dublin today. The restrictions mean 55,000 passengers will be affected.

However, flights in and out of the UK will be largely unaffected, although some of Scotland's airspace was closed last night, while airports in the North are also closed.

Last night Ryanair said it was concentrating on emailing and texting all passengers who were due to fly out of Ireland this morning.

A spokesman said: "The first wave of flights are cancelled.

"We're advising all passengers to check the website for updates before coming to the airport." He said that as of last night a total of 30pc of their Irish flights had been cancelled.

Aer Lingus advised all passengers to go to their website to get updates and also to reschedule or to get a refund.

It said it was cancelling flight EI 105 at 10.30am from Dublin to New York, but all its other transatlantic flights were due to depart after 1pm. Customers were advised there may be delays to transatlantic flights.

The following flights from the US to Ireland scheduled to arrive before 7am this morning are expected to operate: EI 104 from New York to Dublin, EI 110 from New York to Shannon, EI 136 from Boston to Dublin, EI 132 from Boston to Shannon and EI 124 from Chicago to Dublin.

The IAA decision is based on the safety risks to crews and passengers as a result of the drift south of the volcanic ash cloud caused by the north-easterly winds. The no-fly zone affects all airports including Dublin, Shannon, Galway, Sligo, Ireland West (Knock), Donegal, Cork and Kerry.

Up to 20 flights in Shannon and another 50 in Cork will be affected today. Donegal Airport closed last night with two Aer Arann flights cancelled.

Last night Met Eireann said that based on current weather forecast the airports could be closed until at least tomorrow and warned disruptions could continue up to the weekend.

A band of high pressure to the west, coupled with northerly winds, means that the plume is unlikely to drift away from Irish airspace over the next 48 hours. But Met Eireann said two high-pressure systems were building over Iceland and Scandinavia which could move the ash later in the week.

"By Friday there's two high-pressure systems building over Scandinavia and Iceland. This means the plume is moving to a different area," forecaster Siobhan Ryan said.

Concerned

"I wouldn't rule it (restrictions) out for the next 24 or 48 hours. From then the wind is coming from Scandinavia. I would be concerned for the next couple of days. I would say later in the week should be better."

Over-flights of Ireland from the UK and Europe will not be affected. Flights in mainland Europe will also operate normally, and the situation will be reviewed at 9am today.

"This decision means that no flights will land or take off, as was the case on previous occasions," the Dublin Airport Authority said last night. "The IAA are the lead agency in relation to this, so they are the ultimate decision-makers and the airlines will take their guidance from them," a spokesman said.

The move comes after flights over Europe were hit by a six-day shutdown of airspace last month over fears that jet engines would seize up after ingesting ash. The fresh move to shut down Irish airspace came less than a fortnight after widespread disruptions left 300,000 airline passengers and 2,100 flights to and from Ireland grounded.

Normal services only resumed on April 21 last after a week of chaos which forced airlines to cancel up to 30,000 flights a day across the EU because of safety concerns.

The IAA informed airlines based here yesterday afternoon that it was concerned about the ash cloud drifting south because of north-easterly winds.

Projections from the Volcanic Ash Advice Centre (VAAC) in London showed a cloud of ash across Ireland and Scotland which the IAA said raised safety concerns. At 8.30pm, it issued a statement confirming that airspace would close.

The plume is sitting 20,000ft over parts of the country.

Passengers are asked to contact their airlines today for further information.

- Paul Melia


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