British Airways Chief Executive
Willie Walsh said the airspace
closure was a "gross over-reaction
to a very minor risk." "It can be
managed and we don't need these
blanket closures," he told reporters in London.
Posted on 05/17/2010 6:09:36 AM PDT by Willie Green
(Reuters) - Volcanic ash from Iceland grounded 1,000 flights and delayed hundreds of thousands of passengers in parts of northern Europe on Monday, although forecasters said the situation would improve during the week.
World
Several of Europe's busiest airports, including London's Heathrow and Schiphol in Amsterdam, were closed for several hours due to fears the ash could damage jet engines and bring down aircraft.
Eurocontrol, the European air traffic agency, said about 1,000 flights out of a total of 28,000 in Europe had been canceled on Monday, but it offered passengers hope that the disruption will soon pass.
"During the course of the day, the current cloud is expected to disperse," the agency said in a statement. "Delays will also be experienced by flights due to congestion in airspace adjacent to closed areas."
Dutch airspace was reopened from 7 a.m. ET and Schiphol airport's check-in counters were operating again in anticipation, although an airport spokesman said it may take a while longer for flights to resume.
London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports reopened after overnight closures, but passengers were warned to expect long delays and cancellations through the day.
Britain's air traffic control body eased a no-fly zone that affected Heathrow and Gatwick because the drifting ash cloud had changed direction. The restrictions remained in place over Northern Ireland and the Shetland Isles, off northern Scotland.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
British Airways Chief Executive
Willie Walsh said the airspace
closure was a "gross over-reaction
to a very minor risk." "It can be
managed and we don't need these
blanket closures," he told reporters in London.
No connection between ash clouds and the Airbus crash in Libya?
I’ve watched a special on the Brit Air flight that was disabled by volcanic ash over Indonesian Sea several decades ago, first highlighting this problem, and how the crew saved the plane by luck and determiation
very scary
with the Euro and Pound being so low i was hoping to take a mini-holiday and head over there for a week
but with this ash thing keeping flights in chaos i am hesitant
ah well
What is the adaptation to this current geologic phase.
I find it interesting how the enviro nuts and Government, are so worked up about BP and the Gulf oil spill and the need for a moratorium on offshore drilling, When Mr or Mrs Icelandic Volcano is spewing more crap than any million oil wells are capable of.
Saw that episode. The skill of those pilots saved their collective butts. Luck...well yeah...they had a lot of that too. That episode is the reason I want to be no where near an ash cloud (or even a hint) in an airplane. I would rather walk or swim.
My thoughts exactly................
A friend was supposed to be flying to London this morning. Maybe he can take the train?
The luck was that the descent process below the invisible ash cloud cleaned enough ash off those turbine blades to allow the engine restart process to work while they still had altitude to recover- and then they ascended back into the cloud and stalled again but were close enough to an airport to glide in
the crew was clueless about the source of the problem
Typical understated British pilot announcement to the passengers, though! “Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain. I’m afraid all the aircraft engines have stopped working. I trust this won’t cause you too much distress...”
What a story
“How far can we go with no engines?”
“Oh, not to worry. I am sure we will make it all the way to the scene of the crash. And we will likely beat the emergency vehicles by at least twenty minutes or so.”
LOL!!
A friend was supposed to be flying to London this morning. Maybe he can take the train?
Great for pleasure, not so great for business. If, as I suspect, he is sitting at the airport waiting, and waiting, and waiting, a cruise might not seem so bad!
With the Internet, the main reason for international business travel is so the *top dogs* can interact - especially true for government junkets.
A cruise ship is a great venue for *business conventions* offering similar benefits as large cities (New Orleans, New York) and keeps the participants from leaving or being otherwise distracted.
Not to mention all the other commercial/business class flight scheduling/coordination/expense.
Rail & ocean travel - renew, refresh and revisit - for jobs and cost savings.
Any idea what the other Willie,the Walsh Guy is saying is true?
I got the impression that you can run into some serious difficulties if the Ash runs through the plane.
better yet, watch the movie
http://thebestinternet.blogspot.com/2008/04/air-crash-investigation-british-airways_24.html
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.