UK Airspace to reopen at 10 PM (5 PM et) after nearly a week of closure

[brooklynite]

Source: CNN

Banner at CNN: British officials: UK airspace to reopen at 10 p.m. (5 p.m. ET) after nearly a week of closure due to ash from a volcano.

Read more: cnn.com

[dipsydoodle]

1. BBC link here

All UK airports can reopen from 2200 BST on Tuesday, the Transport Secretary Lord Adonis has said.

He added that after the ban was lifted it would be up to airlines to bring flight schedules back on track.

The statement was delivered after consultation with the Civil Aviation Authority and a reassessment of the risk to aircraft from volcanic ash.

Some restrictions will remain in place, but they will be much smaller than those enforced under the current ban.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8633597.stm

Still some restrictions though. The planes parked up at our airports have fine gauze nets fitted over the engine intakes to protect them from ground level dust which is now settling here.

I wondering if airlines might be obliged to check engines between flights instead of a quick vacuum and fill her up with fuel.

[Warpy]

4. I have a friend who is scheduled for a European vacation next week

and she's biting her fingernails down to the elbows, checking travel conditions hourly. It seems the travel insurance she paid for doesn't pay off for "acts of god" like erupting volcanoes.

Eventually that cloud will spread all over the northern hemisphere, causing subtle damage to all engines.

You can bet the engines are checked for external pitting, at the very least, since that can signal trouble within in the form of obsidian gumming up the moving parts.

[dipsydoodle]

5. If by chance

she gets stuck here for any reason then PM me and if I can provide any help then I will. I'm guessing she should be fine as our weather is due to change at the weekend which would help obliterate any remaining issues with the cloud. One of my mates 20 miles north of me in our county, Hertfordshire, had a thick layer of dark grey dust on his car this morning which is how I know its starting to settle.

[dipsydoodle]

6. dup

[BunkerHill24]

2. Brown is under pressure to open air.....

VOLCANO MAYHEM HOPE AT LAST

Thousands of Brits stranded abroad by the volcanic cloud could see an end to the nightmare today - provided new ash eruptions don't dash their hopes.

Tests yesterday showed ash in British airspace is no longer high enough to threaten aircraft and the "contaminated" area was moving south over the UK.

But late last night the eruption in Iceland unexpectedly strengthened.

And Air traffic control company NATS said in a statement: "A new ash cloud is spreading south and east towards the UK.

"Latest information from the Met Office shows the situation is worsening in some areas. The situation for Northern Irish airports for the morning is uncertain."

It added: "Scottish airports should be available from 7am and more airspace over England may become available from 1pm, although not as far south as the main London airports."

UNPRECEDENTED

Three Royal Navy ships have also been sent to rescue holidaymakers from France and Spain. And British Airways hoped to be resuming some flights to and from London from 7pm depending on the advice from NATS.

That means some of the estimated 150,000 Brits stranded abroad could finally start to make their way home.

But travel experts warned most airports would only operate a skeleton service and a "controlled re-opening" - with only those passengers whose flights are ready allowed in to the airports.

And it could be up to a fortnight before everything returns to normal.

British Airways said: "We are working on plans to help as many customers as possible unable to fly due to the unprecedented circumstances that have faced all airlines in Northern Europe.

"We aim to give customers as much notice as possible of flight plans."

As well as the air and sea rescue bid, thousands of passengers will continue to make their way back to Britain by rail.

Eurostar are making another 30,000 seats available from this morning at a special one-way price of £89 to help stranded tourists until Sunday.

Europe's transport ministers also hammered out a provisional deal last night on setting up three flight zones to ease the pressure on flights if the volcano in Iceland spews out more ash.

One EU diplomat said: "There seems to be consensus around creating new zones with a smaller no-fly zone near to the volcano."

A second zone would include safety restrictions and checks for aircraft, with a third zone open to all flights. But aviation experts last night began questioning whether a blanket five-day ban had been necessary.

Update from the Mirror: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/04/20/the-home-coming-115875-22198126/

[Cal Carpenter]

3. I hope it really happens

I've been following this closely due to a personal connection to someone stuck in London and it's been frustrating seeing the projections change so often.

The language in this announcement sounds firmer than any previous ones, so , fingers crossed...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/20/iceland-volcanic-ash-airports-reopen

All UK airports can reopen from 10pm tonight, after the Civil Aviation Authority announced it was ending restrictions on airspace.

The move brings to an end the six-day long suspension of air travel that has stranded hundreds of thousands of Britons overseas.

Dame Deirdre Hutton, chairwoman of the CAA, said flight restrictions could be lifted because none of the no-fly zones caused by the volcanic ash cloud are currently over Britain.

The Transport Secretary, Lord Adonis, confirmed that the abrupt shift in precautionary policy would enable all British airports to reopen. He expected them to remain open in the coming days.

more at link


(eta only if it's truly safe though!!)

[uppityperson]

7. What about flying under the ash?"There is no altitude that is completely safe below 11,000m."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/8632583.stm

What about flying under the ash? Some European airlines have conducted low-altitude test flights and claim to have experienced no problems. Professor Vaughan's observations make clear that there is no altitude at which aircraft are guaranteed to avoid ash. Also, at very low altitudes, the air contains a range of fine particles that it is best for jet aircraft to avoid.

Kjetil Toerseth, director of regional global pollution at the Norwegian Institute for Air Research, told the AFP news agency: "There is no altitude that is completely safe below 11,000m."

But that is only part of it. A British Airways spokesperson said flying at low-altitude would only be an option for short-haul flights, because of the vastly increased fuel consumption. "You could not do it across the Atlantic... Cruising at 35,000 feet the fuel-burn is very low, because the air is thin. You could not load enough fuel to fly at low altitude," the spokesperson said.

She added: "If everyone flew at low altitude, there would not be enough room in the sky." ...(more@link)

[dipsydoodle]

8. I'd often wondered about that bit re. low altitude

thanks for the expo.

[muriel_volestrangler]

9. It's actually cleared above 20,000 ft already

And it was clearing between ground level and 20,000 ft too - but what they've now done is redefine the 'safe' concentration. I think I just heard on TV they've gone from the 'standard threshold' (red on the maps at the following link) to '10 times the standard threshold' (black on the maps).

http://metoffice.com/corporate/pressoffice/2010/volcano/ashconcentration/index.html

The CAA press release: http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=14&pagetype=65&appid=7&mode=detail&nid=1862

"The CAA’s Revised Airspace Guidance will be based on new engine ash tolerance levels and will apply to low ash density areas identified by the Met Office. This information will be circulated on a six hourly basis. Areas where ash levels are at ³ 10-16, plus a sixty mile buffer zone, will remain no fly zones." - but it doesn't say what the old levels were.

[dipsydoodle]

10. Sounds almost as complicated as the general formula for women