Ash Update: Some European Airports Open, Some Closed

April 19, 2010 | Posted in: Airline News,Europe,News

Here’s the latest from the AP and the Washington Post on airport closures due to Iceland’s volcanic ash spewing all over Europe:

Airports in Portugal, Spain, the Balkans, Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey were open for flights on Monday. However, officials say airspace over Britain, France, Germany, and the Netherlands is still closed.

Fewer than a third of Europe’s flights are taking off today, so far.

NOTE: The situation remains fluid, so if you are scheduled to fly in or out of Europe today (or this week), stay in touch with your airline via phone, web or Twitter for updates.

Meanwhile, some Monday morning quarterbacking is going on: per the International Air Transport Association (IATA), European officials responded to the horrendous flight-defying ash with “no risk assessment, no consultation, no coordination, and no leadership.” Airlines are expected to ask for government help with their losses.

Some cause for optimism: we’re hearing that some “test flights” over Europe show ash has cleared in some airspace sectors (for now, at any rate), and the AP notes some airlines are suggesting that officials overreacted to this crisis. I can’t speak to that, beyond my personal feeling that if there’s any question of safety, grounding the planes was the right thing to do.

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8 Responses to “Ash Update: Some European Airports Open, Some Closed”

1. rainyb says:

   April 19, 2010 at 11:14 am

   I agree with grounding the planes for safety reasons. One has to question the test flight though. Even though they are not taking any passengers, are they not putting their pilots lives at risk??
2. Cecil Lee says:

   April 19, 2010 at 12:03 pm

   I really hope the situation could be recovered as soon as possible before the end of the week as I’m flying off to London from Malaysia end of next week and to Venice from Netherland the week after
3. Rick Seaney says:

   April 19, 2010 at 12:25 pm

   Cecil,

   Sounds like a terrific itinerary – believe me, I hope you get there, too (and may all those stranded passengers also get home soon).

   Cheers,
   Rick
4. Rick Seaney says:

   April 19, 2010 at 12:28 pm

   rainyb,

   All we can assume is the pilots know the risks (if any) and are okay with them – but I don’t imagine the airlines would do anything to risk losing a pilot, either.

   Rick
5. Barbara Barclay says:

   April 20, 2010 at 2:05 am

   Given a choice of being stranded in an airport, or seated “comfortably” at 40,000 feet over the North Atlantic in a jumbo jet with all its engines out–guess I’d rather be stranded! Just ask the crew and passengers of the British Airways flight that lost its engines due to volcanic dust. I know it’s difficult, but you’re around to talk about it.
6. Rick Seaney says:

   April 20, 2010 at 7:13 am

   Barbara,

   Couldn’t have said it better myself. Thanks.

   Rick
7. Jim says:

   April 20, 2010 at 9:04 am

   Any thoughts on how this will affect summer travel to Europe (availability, rates, delays)? Or is it still early to speculate?
8. Rick Seaney says:

   April 20, 2010 at 12:40 pm

   Jim,

   I’m afraid it’s too early to tell – but this is something I’m keeping my eye on (as are all airline industry analysts). More soon, I hope – and I will share this on my blog.

   Thanks for writing,
   Rick