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One-Third of European Flights Will Operate Monday

   VOA News 19 April 2010
   A  stranded  passenger  rests  on  a  cot at the airport of Frankfurt,
   central Germany

Photo: AP

   A  stranded  passenger  rests  on  a  cot at the airport of Frankfurt,
   central Germany, 19 Apr 2010

   A European air traffic control agency says nearly one-third of flights
   throughout  Europe  will  take  off  as  scheduled, easing the airline
   disruption caused by volcanic ash from Iceland.
   Eurocontrol  says  8,000  to  9,000  flights of the continent's 28,000
   scheduled flights will take off Monday.
   Earlier,  the  European  Union  presidency  said it hoped that half of
   normally scheduled flights would be operating.
   The   International  Air  Transport  Association  (IATA)  said  it  is
   dissatisfied  with  European  governments'  lack  of leadership.  The
   group's  chief  executive,  Giovanni  Bisignani, said governments must
   place greater urgency on re-opening European skies.
   European  transportation  ministers  meet  by  video conference in the
   coming hours to discuss when to safely re-open airspace.
   Britain,  Germany,  France and the Netherlands say their airspace will
   remain closed at least most of the day.  Spain and Portugal are among
   the countries still open to civil aviation.
   British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Britain is sending Royal Navy
   ships to transport many stranded travelers.
   A  volcano  in  southeastern Iceland erupted last Wednesday, sending a
   thick cloud of ash and dust into the air.
   The massive cloud canceled most trans-Atlantic and European flights.
   Volcanic  ash contains glass and rocks that could cause jet engines to
   shut down in mid-flight.
   Major  European  airlines,  including  KLM,  Lufthansa and Air France,
   conducted  test  flights  with  no passengers Saturday and Sunday, and
   reported no problems.
   But  meteorologists  warned  that  unpredictable wind shifts are still
   making air travel too dangerous.
   Both industry analysts and the IATA said the airlines are losing about
   $200  million  a  day  because of the canceled flights, which are also
   snarling plans for U.S. and Asian travelers.
   Air Berlin chief Joachim Hunold criticized the airline shutdowns.  He
   says  the  decisions  were based only on computer models that show how
   much ash may be in the air.  German media quoted him Sunday as saying
   no one has sent up weather balloons to take actual readings.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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