Some European flights reopen. . .for the moment

by Sean McLachlan on

A limited number of flights took off this morning in Europe after an emergency meeting of EU transport ministers eased the flight ban on those parts of Europe with a lesser amount of ash. Several major airports, such as those in Paris, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt, have seen limited departures. The millions of people waiting for a flight now have some hope of reaching their destination, or at least getting home after being stuck on layovers.

The volcano, however, seems to have other ideas. After a period of reduced activity, a new eruption has belched out a giant cloud of ash that’s heading for the United Kingdom, casting doubt on whether the reopening of a few airports there will last.

The economic impact is widespread, especially for the airlines, whose losses have already passed $1 billion. The tourism industry is also sustaining losses, but this is offset to some degree by people stuck overseas an having to continue to spend money. Luckily this didn’t happen during peak tourist season. Businesses that rely on air freight, such as importers of tropical fruit and flowers, are getting hit hard.

In the meantime, people are scrambling to find alternate modes of transport. My wife, who took many of the photos in our Ethiopia travel series, is still in Oxford trying to figure out how to get back to Madrid. There are no train tickets available until next week and the only transportation her travel agency could offer was a €500 ($672) bus ticket from Paris to Madrid. That’s more than three times the usual price. They also didn’t give any suggestion of how she could get to Paris. British Airways has her scheduled for a flight this afternoon, but since they just announced they’ve canceled all short-haul flights for today I doubt I’ll see her tonight.

Oh, and for some reason BA started following my Twitter feed.

Multiply this tale of frustration by a million, and you get some idea what it’s like to be in Europe right now.

Free admission to SeaWorld, Aquatica and Busch Gardens for volcanic ash victims

by Scott Carmichael on

Travelers from the United Kingdom, Ireland and Continental Europe who are stranded in the US are eligible for free admission to SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica Waterpark and Busch Gardens Tampa.

Because of the volcanic ash flight disruptions, thousands of tourists are stuck waiting for their airlines to get permission to fly, and a free day trip to one of these parks could really help take some of the stress (and boredom) out of waiting.

To get your free tickets, you need a return airline ticket valid from April 14 through Wednesday April 21 (or until flights return to normal). One free ticket is issued for each airline ticket presented. The offer is also extended to airline crews. For more information on this very generous promotion, you can call 1-888-800-5447 or visit the SeaWorld parks and entertainment blog.

Airlines to EU: “Let us fly!”

by Sean McLachlan on

Airlines are begging the European Union to reconsider the flight ban after four days of no flying have left millions stranded or stuck at home and has cost the airlines hundreds of millions of dollars.

At the urging of the airlines, EU transport ministers are holding a conference on the possibility of lifting the flight ban in areas with lesser concentrations of ash. They’re also discussing using Spain as a hub to fly European passengers back from international destinations and then busing them into their affected countries. Some airports in northern Spain closed over the weekend but have now reopened. The conference is being held via video since most ministers are grounded.

Several airlines have conducted test flights, although most have stayed below the level of the highest concentration of volcanic ash. A British Airways test flight from Heathrow to Cardiff yesterday, however, went up to 10,000 feet, then up 5,000 feet in stages every five minutes until it reached an altitude of 40,000 feet. The flight flew over a portion of the Atlantic and BA says it experienced no difficulties. The plane’s engines are now being examined for damage from the ash, which contains minerals and silica that have jammed jet engines in the past.

Some of the worst affected countries are starting their own measures. The United Kingdom will use three Royal Navy ships to ferry some of its 150,000 stranded citizens back home. Trains, buses, and ferries are seeing record ticket sales.

On a more personal note, my wife, who’s a contributor to the Ethiopia travel series, is still stranded in England. She was taking a flight from our home in Madrid to Toronto via Heathrow and got stuck there. If she had flown two hours earlier she would have made it to Canada; two hours later and she would have never left Spain! We’re racking up hundreds of dollars in hotel bills with no guarantee we’ll be reimbursed, and her travel agency isn’t answering emails. She hopes to get on a train, but with a threatened rail strike here in Madrid, things seem to be only getting worse. And I can tell you it’s no fun explaining to your four-year-old that you don’t know when mom’s coming home.

Stranded travelers have days to wait

by Sean McLachlan on

More bad news for travelers stranded by the volcanic eruption in Iceland–the cloud of ash has spread across a wider swath of Europe and it will be days before it dissipates.

The volcano is still churning out large amounts of ash, and with the current wind patterns meteorologists say the cloud will probably stay put until later this week. Even after the skies become safe to fly again, nobody is sure how long it will take to deal with the tremendous backlog of passengers.

Yesterday only 5,000 flights flew within Europe, out of a scheduled 22,000. These flights were between the few remaining nations lucky enough to still have clear airspace. The cloud has affected international flights too, with the majority of flights to Europe from the United States having been canceled.

Those countries that have closed down their airspace entirely include: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Those with partial closures and severe delays include Italy, Norway, and Spain.

Yesterday the European Union asked KLM and Lufthansa to run test flights to see if the engines would be damaged by the ash. All eleven airplanes made it to their destinations safely and are being examined for damage. KLM said its initial tests show no problems, and the airline Ukraine International has declared that after its own safety tests it was resuming service.

From a personal point of view, I don’t hold out much hope of seeing my wife fly back from England anytime soon. The best bet seems to be for her to take the Eurostar from London to Paris, and then another train back to Madrid. But with thousands of other people jostling for tickets, and the trip costing more than 300 euros with no guarantee that she’ll be reimbursed, it’s a pretty poor option. In the meantime she’s visiting friends in Oxford and would be cheered up if you looked at her photos from our Ethiopia travel series.

European flights grounded due to Icelandic volcano

by Sean McLachlan on

The massive eruption of a volcano in Iceland may be turning into a local tourist attraction, but it’s seriously hurting the travel industry. Ash from the volcano is heading for the skies over the UK and Scandinavia and has caused most flights in the UK to be grounded.

The thick, gritty ash can damage engines, causing them to jam, so all airports in Scotland are closed, as are numerous airports in England, including Heathrow. Ireland’s airports are also reporting widespread delays and cancellations.

Other airports in Northern Europe are also closing or experiencing heavy cancellations, including in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland.

Twice in the 1980s airplanes flying through clouds of volcanic ash had their engines seize up. Both times the pilots were able to steer away from the clouds and restart the engines, but needless to say aviation officials don’t want to risk another incident.

Since the volcano is still churning out so much ash that it can be seen from space, as this NASA image shows, it is unclear how long the delays will last. If you are flying to, from, or around Europe over the next few days, call your airline for the latest updates. We’ll keep you posted here at Gadling too.