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Volcanic Ash Prompts European Flight Cancellations

   VOA News  May 24, 2011
   Graphic image of Grímsvötn volcanic ash concentration levels for 0000
   GMT, May 25, 2011 (Reuters)

Photo: Reuters

   Graphic image of GrÃmsvötn volcanic ash concentration levels for 0000
   GMT, May 25, 2011 (Reuters)

   Airlines have grounded about 500 flights as the ash cloud from
   Iceland's GrÃmsvötn volcano forced the cancellation of flights in and
   out of Scotland, northern Britain and Northern Ireland.
   Several carriers, including British Airways, Dutch carrier KLM, Easyjet
   and several regional airlines, canceled flights Tuesday. The cloud also
   caused minor disruptions in Norway and Denmark, as it moves across
   northern Europe. Forecasters say the ash cloud could travel as far as
   western France and Spain by later this week.
   The Icelandic Meteorological Office says emissions from the volcano,
   which lies beneath the island's largest glacier, had slowed.
   Experts say the impact of the eruption will be far less severe than the
   April 2010 eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokul volcano.
   Iceland reopened its airports late Monday, after they were closed
   Sunday because of ash concerns.

   Airline industry experts say the disruption and financial losses from
   the latest Icelandic volcano eruption will not be as bad as a similar
   incident about a year ago.

   The latest problem stems from a cloud of ash from an Icelandic volcano
   that is drifting into busy European airspace. Officials are worried
   that the ash could damage aircraft engines and cause other safety
   problems, prompting them to cancel hundreds of flights.

   The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says the previous
   ash-cloud incident in 2010 forced cancellation of 100,000 flights,
   stranded millions of passengers, cost the industry $1.8 billion, and
   cost the global economy $5 billion.

   IATA complains that different European governments are applying
   different standards on how thick the airborne ash must be before
   flights are cancelled. The industry group called for better
   international coordination.

   The global credit rating agency Fitch says governments have made some
   progress in cooperation over the past year, and that will probably
   reduce the ultimate economic impact from flight disruptions this time
   around.

   Airline officials say last year, officials did not do enough to check
   the actual conditions in the air, instead relying too heavily on
   computer models showing where the ash was supposed to be. IATA said
   Tuesday it is "astonishing and unacceptable" that a British aircraft
   that is supposed to check actual conditions has been unable to fly.

   The lack of first-hand scientific data prompted budget airline Ryan Air
   to send one of its own aircraft Tuesday into an area that was supposed
   to have high concentrations of ash. Ryan Air says its crew saw no ash
   and an inspection on the ground found no evidence of damage to the
   plane. Budget airlines were particularly hard-hit by last year's
   disruptions.

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

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