Global General

Flights pick up in Europe as ash risk is lowered

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-04-21 05:21

Flights pick up in Europe as ash risk is lowered

A Lufthansa aircraft lands on a runway at Munich's international airport after it resumed service to some destinations April 20, 2010. [Agencies]

LONDON - European airports started to return to life on Tuesday after five days cut off from the rest of the world by a volcanic ash cloud, as authorities downgraded the risk the ash posed to aircraft.

Britain, a major global air hub as well as a busy destination in its own right that has been squarely under the ash plume, said it would reopen all its airspace within hours, giving a huge boost to travellers and air freight.

The progressive reopening offered stranded passengers relief after days of frustration since no-fly zones were imposed on Thursday.

Belgian businessman Thomas Vanderstappen was playing airline roulette, buying five refundable air tickets from Moscow to different European destinations in the hope one flight would eventually take off.

"I should get out today, Vienna seems a sure thing," he said at Moscow's Domodedovo airport, which had seen a significant increase in flights to Western Europe in the previous 24 hours.

"The first two days I spent a lot of time in the airport I was checked in four or five times on four or five different airlines. I even got onto planes and then got kicked off."

European aviation control agency Eurocontrol said on Tuesday about half of scheduled air traffic in Europe was expected to operate: about 14,000 flights, up from a third on Monday.

Britain had lagged its European neighbours in downgrading the threat to airplanes from the ash, which can potentially scour and even paralyse jet engines.

A British Airways jet lost power in all four engines after flying through an ash cloud above the Indian Ocean in 1982.

Britain's Civil Aviation Authority made clear that scientists and manufacturers had now downgraded the risk from flying in areas of relatively low ash concentrations.

"This evidence-based approach helped to validate a new standard that is now being adopted across Europe," it said.

"The major barrier to resuming flight has been understanding tolerance levels of aircraft to ash. Manufacturers have now agreed increased tolerance levels in low ash density areas."

The European Union had agreed a regime for easing flight restrictions on Monday under pressure from airlines losing $250 million a day -- many of which had flown test flights without sustaining any damage.

Air France said it planned to fly all of its long-haul programme on Wednesday, although flights in parts of northern Europe would remain suspended. Germany, with the major Frankfurt hub, kept its airspace closed, with some exceptions.

It is not clear how long it will take to clear a backlog of hundreds of thousands of stranded travellers

Earlier in the day, Britain had despatched a warship to northern Spain to collect around 300 stranded Britons. It said it would use Madrid as a hub for British citizens stranded outside of Europe to fly to, and that more than 100 coaches were being sent to take them to ferry ports.