Travel disruption worsens as no-fly zone is extended

(REUTERS)

Britain's air travel nightmare worsened tonight as the Civil Aviation Authority extended its no-fly zone south to include airports in Birmingham and Norwich.

London's main airports remain open tonight but an ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano mean restrictions are now in place over the Midlands, northern England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The restrictions will remain in place until at least 1am tomorrow, air traffic authority Nats said.

A statement on the Nats website said: "For the period 1900 today (local time) until 0100 tomorrow (Monday) London's main airports will still be clear of the no-fly zone imposed by the CAA due to the high density volcanic ash cloud.

"The ash cloud continues to change shape and move further south to just north of Oxford during this period.

"This brings Birmingham and Norwich inside the no-fly zone in addition to those airports already affected.

"The northerly extent of the no-fly zone in England now includes Teesside, stopping just short of Newcastle, and tracking north west in a line just north of Carlisle, which remains in the no-fly zone.

"Airports inside the no-fly zone in England and Wales now include Teesside, Humberside, Leeds Bradford, Blackpool, Ronaldsway, Caernarfon, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Doncaster, Norwich, Birmingham and East Midlands.

"In Scotland the no-fly zone includes the Western Isles, Campbeltown, Prestwick and Oban.

"All airports in Northern Ireland remain inside the no-fly zone during this period."

Airports including Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds Bradford, East Midlands, Carlisle, Doncaster and Humberside were closed at 1pm today.

Several Scottish airports, including Prestwick, were also shut along with all airports in Northern Ireland.

Flights in and out of Dublin are also grounded until at least 9am tomorrow and other Irish airports have also been closed by the cloud.

The Department of Transport has warned there may be restrictions across different parts of the UK until Tuesday when a change in wind direction is expected to blow the ash cloud from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano away from Britain.

British Airways' problems are expected to continue however with staff planning strike action from Tuesday.

Sir Richard Branson, president of Virgin Atlantic, said: "The closing of Manchester airspace once again is beyond a joke.

"All the test flights by airlines, aircraft and engine manufacturers have shown no evidence that airlines could not continue to fly completely safety.

"It is obviously dangerous to fly through the mouth of a volcano as has been demonstrated time and time again on television by what happened to the BA plane. However the volcano is hundreds of miles away from the UK.

"Over a thousand flights took off from France last week in similar conditions to that which exist in Manchester today without encountering any problems or showing any levels of ash concentration.

"We need strong leadership to intervene to avoid doing further unnecessary damage to the UK economy and lives of travellers."

A spokesman for British Airways said it believed airlines should take the decision whether or not it was safe to fly, describing the current approach as "overly restrictive" and "not justified".

"The approach the airspace authorities have taken in relation to volcanic ash remains overly restrictive and not justified on safety grounds," he said.

"While we welcome the steps that have been taken since mid-April to moderate the restrictions, it is clear there is too much reliance on the theoretical model of ash spread produced by a single body: the London Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre.

"Like other European operators, we have no confidence in this model as the basis for deciding closures of European airspace.

"The airline industry has a great deal of experience in dealing safely with the potential risk posed by volcanic ash.

"As a global airline, British Airways has operated for many years in areas of volcanic activity, and we believe airlines are best placed to take the final decisions on whether or not it is safe to fly. Safety will always be our over-riding priority."

CAA chief executive Andrew Haines said: "We are all working flat out to keep flying safe whilst minimising disruption from the volcano.

"We face a massive challenge to do this. Firstly because the standard default procedure for aircraft that encounter ash, to avoid it completely, doesn't work in our congested airspace.

"Secondly, the top scientists tell us that we must not simply assume the effects of this volcano will be the same as others elsewhere.

"Its proximity to the UK, the length of time it is continuously erupting and the weather patterns are all exceptional features.

"The answer can only come, therefore, from aircraft manufacturers establishing what level of ash their products can safely tolerate.

"This was agreed at an international aviation conference we held last Thursday, attended by all the leading airline operators (including Virgin and BA) where this approach was welcomed and supported. The manufacturers are co-operating fully and urgently in this task.

"It's the CAA's job to ensure the public is kept safe by ensuring safety decisions are based on scientific and engineering evidence; we will not listen to those who effectively say 'let's suck it and see'."

A Department for Transport spokesman said: "The safety of passengers must be paramount.

"This new ash cloud contains concentrations of ash which safety regulators and aircraft manufacturers believe could be damaging to aircraft.

"The Civil Aviation Authority continues discussions with manufacturers, airlines and the research community over volcanic ash levels, but any further changes to guidelines would only be made if there were a consensus these were safe.

"Passengers should contact their airlines for further information about how their flight may be affected."

The latest closures came as bad news for passengers hoping the skies were getting back to normal a month after volcanic ash first cancelled a swathe of flights across Europe.

A spokesman for Manchester Airport apologised for the inconvenience and added: "There is absolutely no official suggestion or predication that the prolonged, continent-wide airspace restrictions experienced in April are about to occur again."

Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports remain open but some flights have been cancelled because of problems elsewhere.

Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney said: "Current predictions suggest the situation is likely to worsen over the next 24 hours before easing into Tuesday."

The Met Office yesterday began publishing five-day forecasts on its website which predict the movement of the ash clouds.

Network Rail has pledged to do everything it can to help stranded air passengers make journeys by train.

Robin Gisby, director of operations and customer service, said services to and from Scotland and to Irish Sea ports will be boosted and engineering work will be postponed if necessary to allow more services to run.

A spokesman for the Association of Train Operating Companies (Atoc) said: "Plans have been put in place to run extra services or add carriages to trains where possible and where demand is higher than normal.

"Passengers travelling by rail should check the National Rail Enquiries website for up-to-date information, including alternative travel options on routes to the continent."

Virgin Trains said 7,000 extra seats will be provided today and tomorrow, mainly on Anglo Scottish services on two routes - Birmingham to Glasgow and Edinburgh, and London Euston to Glasgow.

There will also be some longer trains tomorrow on the line between London and Holyhead to connect with ferries to Dublin.

The rail company said a decision on service levels for Tuesday will be made when after forecasts from the Met Office are updated.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) said: "Cover for delayed or cancelled flights will vary between travel insurance policies, so for clarification check your travel policy or contact your insurer for confirmation of the position."