The two men spoke at a meeting of Eurocontrol, which oversees air safety operations in the region.

A spokeswoman for KLM — one of the airlines that conducted test flights — told CNN the flights show European air space is safe with the exception of Iceland.

European transport ministers plan to discuss the results of flight tests at a technical meeting Monday.

The British government said Sunday that British air space will be closed for at least another 24 hours.
Britain is considering whether to draft the Royal Navy to help people stranded by the travel crisis, officials said.

Across Europe on Sunday, a handful of planes making test flights took off into skies dusted with volcanic ash, tasked with a single mission: determining whether passenger flights can safely resume.

“I wish to establish, as a matter of urgency, whether some safe flight paths can be identified and opened up to flights,” said British Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis.

Noting that other European nations were conducting similar test flights, Adonis said, “Urgent discussions are taking place with European and international regulatory agencies. We want to be able to resume flights as soon as possible, but safety remains my paramount concern.”

Millions of people have been affected by the biggest aviation disruption of recent years — some officials call it worse than after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.
After a test flight Saturday evening, inspections “revealed that the flight had encountered no problems whatsoever,” KLM Royal Dutch Airlines announced. Dutch transport authorities then allowed KLM to conduct nine more test flights.

British Airways announced it was operating a test flight Sunday as well. A 747 aircraft would fly for a few hours with a crew of five on board.

The French Aviation Authority said it was conducting evaluation flights as well, with results expected Sunday night.

Some European airports reopened Sunday, including several in France and Germany, and all 16 that had been closed in Spain. But officials in each country emphasized that decisions were being made around the clock and could change at any time. Airports in much of the continent remained closed, with passengers unable to fly anywhere — and many hotels quickly running out of rooms.

Since the eruption beneath southern Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull glacier worsened last week, prompting local evacuations and affecting European air space, airlines have been losing at least $200 million a day, according to the International Air Transport Association, the trade group representing airlines. That could mean airlines worldwide have lost about a billion dollars as of Sunday.

Duration : 0:1:36

[youtube aNtv9sHSL0E]

Duration : 0:0:52

[youtube Y0VAs4lrQcI]

UPDATE: Flights cancelled in UK airspace Friday 16th April. Next Update from NATS expected 1am Sat 17th.
Northern Scottish airports, Ireland Shannon and Northern Ireland Airports Reopen for limited services. Check with your flight operator for more details.

All flights across Europe have been directly or indirectly affected by the Volcanic eruption, Norway, Sweden and Denmark have also been badly affected.

Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh airports have been shut. The ash is moving south and flights from all UK airports have been delayed until further notice at 6pm BST.

Ryanair flights to and from the UK are cancelled today (Thursday 15th April) and delays expected on Friday 16th April. Up to 4000 flights have been affected across Europe.

If you are affected by the delay and you would like to know your rights you can call consumer direct (UK Government help body) 0845 4040506

Duration : 0:0:25

[youtube sOl08Un71U4]

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/weather/jan-june10/volcano1_04-16.html

volcano in Iceland April 2010 ash air travel problems for airports flight أيسلندا بركان Vulkaan Ysland Islanda vullkan Ісландыі вулкан Исландия Islàndia Volcà 冰岛火山 冰島火山 Island vulkan Island Volcano IJsland Bulkang Islanti Islande Volcan Volcán en Islandia Ισλανδία Ηφαίστειο Vòlkan איסלנד הר געש आइसलैंड ज्वालामुखी Izland Islandia An Íoslainn Bolcán Islanda Vulcano アイスランド火山 아이슬란드 화산 Islande Islandija vulkanas Исланд вулканот آتشفشان ایسلند Vulcão na Islândia Исланд Исландия Islandijo Volkeno ไอซ์แลนด์ ภูเขาไฟ İzlanda Ісландія Gwlad yr Iâ יסעלאַנד
ווולקאַן

Duration : 0:5:27

[youtube -D391YXfp_Q]

Duration : 0:1:3

[youtube Xvh12CGgDks]

British traffic controllers were warning of a new ash cloud headed for major air routes, as they maintained airspace restrictions on Tuesday.

Meteorologists in Iceland nonetheless say the amount of fresh ash spewing from the volcano has been reducing.

European airports have been making tentative steps towards resuming flights.

The first flights began to take off from Paris’ Charles De Gaulle Airport Tuesday morning.

Although relieved to finally continue their journey, one traveler said she was a little tentative about being on one of the first flights.

[Julie Bell, Passenger]:
“I think we are just a little nervous that we are the first flight flying out and just hope that we make it back to the United States, San Franciso okay.”

The restrictions over European air space have been eased by introducing a no-fly zone, rather than a blanket closure, which allows flights to take place outside the high risk areas.

When questioned whether this action could have been taken five days ago, Brian Flynn of Eurocontrol was emphatic.

[Brian Flynn, Eurocontrol]:
“Five days ago we had, six days ago now, we had an eruption of unprecedented proportions, unprecedented meteorological conditions which led to a rapid dispersion of a significant and very significant volcanic ash cloud through out large parts of Europe. The guidelines are ‘Don’t fly through it.’ We did not have accurate data on its quantity, its density, its dispersion and all the other parameters, so the only wise decision to take was to restrict European airspace to civil aircraft in the interest of the safety of the air passenger.”

In Brussel’s airport the first flights began to take off and land after five days of cancellations.

Elsewhere there’s been a mixed pattern: Swedish airspace has begun to reopen, but Poland’s closed four airports it had opened on Monday.

And Glasgow airport in Scotland opened but closed again.

Eurocontrol say they now expect around 50% of scheduled flights to take place as normal across Europe.

Duration : 0:2:14

[youtube Ee0I8T5Izlg]

A look at the top news stories at 10:00 a.m. IST on Apr. 20,’10. For more news and analysis, log on to http://www.zeenews.com

Duration : 0:2:4

[youtube yrW2jfQt0q0]

Dozens of test flights carried out by airlines suggest the volcanic ash over the continent has no impact on planes in flight. Germany’s Lufthansa says the company was granted permission to fly 50 planes back home with a total of about 15,000 passengers on board. While airspace still remains closed in over twenty countries leaving millions of travellers stranded.

Duration : 0:2:31

[youtube 0N8BehH2rpw]

Duration : 0:2:48

[youtube DkLLMoByF1o]

But the development came amid warnings of a fresh cloud of debris heading towards the continent, as Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull began spewing lava and heavy ash.

Earlier, Britain’s National Air Traffic Service (Nats) said a new ash cloud was spreading south and east towards the UK, while the European Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) said it may also hit Denmark and Scandinavia.

British officials said London airports were likely to remain closed for another day due to the plume, although airports in the north of the country were beginning to resume, with its first flight leaving Scotland early Tuesday morning.

Britain has dispatched three naval ships to rescue stranded Britons, including troops returning from Afghanistan.

The aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal and amphibious assault ship HMS Ocean were made available for those stranded in France, while the assault ship HMS Albion was en route to northern Spain to pick up British troops.

The new wave of ash has forced aviation officials to close airports on Norway’s southwestern coast, from Stavanger to Kristiansand, after authorities had
lifted air travel restrictions in most parts of Norway.

Icelandic police said there was still “considerable volcanic activity at the site and
three seemingly separate craters are still erupting”.

But a statement noted that the plume was “smaller and lighter” than it had been previously, “indicating that there is not much ash in it”.

The Eurocontrol air traffic agency in Brussels said it expects some 55 to 60 per cent of flights over Europe to go ahead on Tuesday, a significant improvement over the last few days.

By midmorning, 10,000 of Europe’s 27,500 daily flights were scheduled to go.

In China, the first flight to Northern Europe since late last week set off at 12 noon local time (04:00 GMT), and the first commercial flight bound for NEw York’s JFK airport left from Paris.

Schiphol airport in Amsterdam has seen a number of flights depart since Monday evening, with the Dutch government approving flights under certain conditions.

Airspace has also reopened or begun to partially reopen in Sweden, Austria, Italy, France, Latvia and Lithuania.

In Germany, airspace remains officially closed until 1200G and in Denmark airspace above 16,600 feet has been opened, but flights are unable to land.

The move to ease flight restrictions had come after criticism from carriers, who said test flights in recent days by airlines including KLM, Lufthansa and British Airways suggested planes could fly safely despite the ash and that the danger was exaggerated.

None of the test flights reported problems or damage.
———–
Copyright 2010 THE TIMES OF EARTH All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Duration : 0:1:30

[youtube j6F46Ek-BNU]