UK + Northern Europe Airspace Shut Down Due to Volcanic Ash

The UK has shut down its airspace effective 12 Noon (7am ET) due to ash from a volcano erupting in Iceland. Norway, Sweden, Finland have also halted flights due to the massive ash cloud, which is moving south. As the cloud moves later today, Amsterdam may also close, along with French and Russian airports and probably other countries in between.

This could seriously screw stuff up. The last time this volcano erupted, in 1821, it lasted two years. Imagine if northern Europe is cut off for even a week, or a month, or longer...

NYCAviation:

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:arrow: Volcanic Ash Forces Unprecedented Airspace Shutdown in Europe'
Much of Europe's airspace is closed until further notice due to a massive cloud of dangerous ash spreading southeastward from a volcano in Iceland.

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I'm supposed to fly to England tonight, but doesn't look like that's going to happen.

The UK's airspace is closed until at least 0700L (UK time) tomorrow and it's looking like that will be extended further. All other countries around Europe have been closing their airspace through tomorrow afternoon, and the longer this volcano activity lasts, the longer they will remain closed... Crazy!

It' the same mess for us in France, no takeoff from Paris until tomorrow 10 AM.

Michel

Interesting article on the history of this volcano and what could come in the near future. The worst may be to come:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/w ... 070239.ece

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Iceland is preparing for an even more powerful and potentially destructive volcano after a small eruption at the weekend shot red-hot molten lava high into the sky.

About 500 people were safely evacuated from the land close to the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which is around 120 kilometres (75 miles) southeast of the capital, Reykjavik. The country's two airports were closed for most of the day and transatlantic flights re-routed to avoid the risk of ash blocking visibility and destroying engines.

After circling the spectacular eruption in a Civil Defence aircraft, Freymodur Sigmundsson, a geophysicist, concluded that the immediate danger was receding and that the lava was flowing along a one kilometre-long fissure.

The original fear was that the volcano had erupted directly underneath the Eyjafjallajokull glacier, which could have caused glacial melt, flooding and mudslides. Instead, the volcano blew inbetween Eyjafjallajokull and the larger Myrdalsjoekull glacier.
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However, the danger is that the small volcano is just the beginning and that it will trigger the far more powerful volcano of Katla, which nestles beneath Myrdalsjoekull.

“That has to be on the table at the moment," Dave McGarvie, senior lecturer at the Volcano Dynamics Group of the Open University, said. “And it is a much nastier piece of work.”

Icelanders agree. "This could trigger Katla, which is a vicious volcano that could cause both local and global damage," Pall Einarsson, from the University of Iceland, said.

Tremors around Eyjafjallajokull were first recorded in early March, but precise prediction of volcanic eruption is difficult, even with the high-tech equipment available to Icelandic geologists.

Now that it has happened the only basis for prediction is history — and that does not look good.

"Eyjafjallajokull has blown three times in the past thousand years," Dr McGarvie told The Times, "in 920AD, in 1612 and between 1821 and 1823. Each time it set off Katla." The likelihood of Katla blowing could become clear "in a few weeks or a few months", he said.

Iceland is built on a volcanic rock on the Atlantic's mid-oceanic ridge and it has grown used to eruptions. The southern village of Vik, close to the current eruption, has for centuries had an escape plan in which everybody runs up to the church, which is built on high ground. They know that if Katla erupts flooding will follow.

The island's worst eruption in modern times was in 1783, when the Laki volcano blew its top. The lava shot to heights of 1.4 kilometres and more than 120 million tonnes of sulphur dioxide was released into the atmosphere.

A quarter of the island's population died in the resulting famine and it transformed the world, creating Britain's notorious "sand summer", casting a toxic cloud over Prague, playing havoc with harvests in France — sometimes seen as a contributory factor in the French Revolution — and changing the climate so dramatically that New Jersey recorded its largest snowfall and Egypt one of its most enduring droughts.

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Here is a European Airport Update as of 1500L/1900Z Thur 4-15
(Note, only includes airports US serves as our OCC is my source.)

DUB LHR LGW MAN all closed until at least 0600Z 16 April

CDG will close at 2100Z and hope to reopen at 0800Z 16 April

BRU closed until 1000Z 16 April

AMS closed until 0800Z 16 April

FRA and MUC are reported open, not closed YET !

BCN MAD FCO ZRH are all open and not expected to have any problems tonight.

The only Eastbound US transatlantic flights US is planning to operate tonight are

PHL-MAD PHL-FCO A330-300
PHL-BCN 767-200

Regards

LGA777

They've begun extending the closure times. As you can see if you check out the updated NYCA link above, the forecast map does not show any improvement between now and tomorrow afternoon.

UK airspace closed at least until 1pm local.

Denmark and Sweden closed at least until noon.

I hope maybe we can get some unusual aircraft out of this!

One station reported that it is the biggest closure of airspace since 9/11. I'm hearing reports of flights
being cancelled for days. And since this is considered an "act of God" the airlines are under no obligation
to put passengers up in hotels. They are esssentialy on their own.

I never share much with regard to my job but this volcano stuff certainly makes work interesting!!

5 flights from the US to Europe had departed but were turned around. One was a Continental flight out of Houston that got as far as Canada when it was turned back to Houston. A true flight to no where.
Hopefully this clears up by July. :lol: My wife and I are heading to Italy. :D

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Originally Posted by Phil D.

I never share much with regard to my job but this volcano stuff certainly makes work interesting!!

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Tell me about it... I've been sitting here on crew-rest waiting to go to England... Doesn't look like we're going anywhere anytime soon though... Glad I'm not a planner at TACC for this event!

With air restrictions over the northern UK expected to be lifted this evening, BA just announced it will operate 6 flights from US to Scotland rather than LHR overnight. Ground transport will move passengers from Scotland to London.

* BA174 From New York (JFK) - Arriving in Glasgow (GLA)
* BA176 From New York (JFK) - Arriving in Prestwick (PIK)
* BA182 From New York (JFK) - Arriving in Glasgow (GLA)
* BA194 From New York (EWR) - Arriving in Prestwick (PIK)
* BA284 From San Francisco (SFO) - Arriving in Glasgow (GLA)
* BA268 From Los Angeles (LAX) - Arriving in Prestwick (PIK)

LH made it out late last night around 1800 or so only 8 hours late and Air France overnighted aswell here in SEA

It appears the eruptions have become a more severe in the past few hours and that combined with a wind shift things over Europe are projected to get worse. Here is the latest "Ash Map" put out by the UK Met Office:

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/aviation...1271463398.png

Winds have shifted, and the reopening of airspace over north England and Ireland has been revoked. CO22, EWR-DUB, turned around over Newfoundland, heading back to EWR. Looks like Scotland is still in the clear.

Medevac through the ash.....

http://www.shephard.co.uk/news/rotorhub ... -ash/6143/

EWR is a parking lot. Air India 773, Jet Airways A330, Air France A330, 2 Openskies 757s, 2 SAS A330's, El Al 777, British Airways 777(was 2 but one went to Prestwick tonight), Lufthansa A330, two Virgin A340s, Air One(Alitalia) A330, and half of Continental's 777's and 767's are parked all over the field sitting idle. Air Portugal seems to be the only European carrier operating as normal.

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Originally Posted by GothamSpotter

With air restrictions over the northern UK expected to be lifted this evening, BA just announced it will operate 6 flights from US to Scotland rather than LHR overnight. Ground transport will move passengers from Scotland to London.

* BA174 From New York (JFK) - Arriving in Glasgow (GLA)
* BA176 From New York (JFK) - Arriving in Prestwick (PIK)
* BA182 From New York (JFK) - Arriving in Glasgow (GLA)
* BA194 From New York (EWR) - Arriving in Prestwick (PIK)
* BA284 From San Francisco (SFO) - Arriving in Glasgow (GLA)
* BA268 From Los Angeles (LAX) - Arriving in Prestwick (PIK)

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Looks like a few of these flights made it, but 182 and 268 were canceled.

Air France flew some special flights to southern France, like LAX-MRS, but none from the east coast.

BA has canceled everything until Monday afternoon.

Moscow airports are shutting down soon.

Airspace over Northern Italy is closed.

France is now covered and Spain is about to get it now too.

Obamas trip to Poland for the funeral of their President was cancelled due to the ash cloud. Other world leaders/delegations were also forced to cancel though French President Sarkozy said he WILL fly. Others closer will go by car.

I hate to imagine the damage this is causing the world's economy. Sad, just as the world was pulling itself out of a recession.

I saw a report on ABC tonite of a reporter under the cloud in Iceland. It was scarier than a Nuclear Winter,
WOW!!!
And how this disaster continues to effect all...
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?secti ... id=7391487

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Originally Posted by Gerard

I saw a report on ABC tonite of a reporter under the cloud in Iceland. It was scarier than a Nuclear Winter,
WOW!!!
And how this disaster continues to effect all...
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?secti ... id=7391487

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Hmm, that report said a flight made it to EWR from Paris, but I couldn't find anything on flight aware.

Also, the PM of Norway is no longer stuck in NY...flew JFK-MAD-BSL and then drove 20 hours to Oslo.

Similarly, German President Merkel flew SFO-LIS-FCO followed by 20 hour drive to Berlin.

I wonder how long this will last. Correct me if I'm wrong but the last time this mountain was active it lasted two years.

Can someone post some links to show that this looks like from the ground on the mainland?. I have not been able to find a single image from the UK, Northern Europe etc

Senga

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Originally Posted by Gerard

Obamas trip to Poland for the funeral of their President was cancelled due to the ash cloud. Other world leaders/delegations were also forced to cancel though French President Sarkozy said he WILL fly. Others closer will go by car.

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Sarkozy DIDNT fly from what I read.
Also heard that a number of airlines (Air France, KLM) are sending up test flights to see how bad it is.
Stories of people on both sides of The Pond not getting flights until at least Friday or Saturday at the earliest.

KLM and Lufthansa completed 'repositioning' flights (no pax) without running into any ash and are calling for the reopening of airspace. KLM did 737s up at FL410, Lufthansa stayed at lower altitudes and did their flights VFR.

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Air France: We carried out succesful test flight
PARIS — Air France says it's safely carried out a test flight over France for the first time since a volcanic ash plume shut down aviation over Europe.
The plane traveled from Charles de Gaulle airport to Toulouse in southern France. Another test flight is under way in southwest France, it said, and three more will follow, for a total of five test flights Sunday.
European airlines are pushing national regulators to reopen airspace across Europe, saying the ash appears to have diminished enough to make flying safe.
Dutch airline KLM said it safely flew aircraft without passengers through a window in the cloud of volcanic ash over Europe Sunday, and pressed for an end to the total ban on commercial air traffic that has paralyzed travel across the continent.


http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/art ... QD9F5H4M81

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Originally Posted by SengaB

Can someone post some links to show that this looks like from the ground on the mainland?. I have not been able to find a single image from the UK, Northern Europe etc

Senga

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spoke to a friend living in dublin this morning, they haven't seen anything on the ground as yet though the airports are still closed. BBC and CNN video show ash covering everything on the ground in iceland downwind of the volcano. a reporter wiped the hood of a car, there had to be an inch of ash on it. looks almost like dirty snow.

Was just talking to my mother in North East England, and they have not had much ash so far, but it's starting to fall now and they had a small layer of ash on the car this afternoon - I guess you could say prevailing winds blow!

I think I'm starting to get withdrawal symptoms. I've lived under a flight path all my life and have never witnessed a sky THIS empty!

At around 06:30am there were reports that 90% of flights were cancelled in the UK, with ABZ, GLA and EDI closed, and planes grounded at MAN, STN, LHR and LTN. As the day went on a lot of planes were grounded in Europe too. I found it bizarre.

Eurocontrol says it 'hopes to have at least 50 percent of flights in Europe operating Monday'.

I'm meant to be starting flight school in 2 weeks, a lot of lessons have been cancelled. Eyja better clear up her acts!

While this is going to cost airlines money this is boosting our revenues across the boards now. What is going air cargo is going at a steep rate and if it is not time sensative it is going ocean which is really helping the steamship lines make money. Deck space is at a premium on ships for the next little while. Busy busy busy........

I love the thread someone started in the A.net Photography forum..."The weather is beautiful today, I think I'll stop on down to LHR for some spotting...oh wait..." :D

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Originally Posted by aeropup

I think I'm starting to get withdrawal symptoms. I've lived under a flight path all my life and have never witnessed a sky THIS empty!

At around 06:30am there were reports that 90% of flights were cancelled in the UK, with ABZ, GLA and EDI closed, and planes grounded at MAN, STN, LHR and LTN. As the day went on a lot of planes were grounded in Europe too. I found it bizarre.

Eurocontrol says it 'hopes to have at least 50 percent of flights in Europe operating Monday'.

I'm meant to be starting flight school in 2 weeks, a lot of lessons have been cancelled. Eyja better clear up her acts!

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Look at the past of this volcano. If that is any incication for this eruption Katla will erupt as well and they say its going to be even worse. This isnt over yet. Not by a long shot the way I see it.

I just passed EWR on the way home from DC and saw a Jet A330 take off, however there is still a Jet 77W parked on a remote stand along with a few other European aircraft, the Delta 763 to AMS and an Air India 77W.

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Originally Posted by Iberia A340-600

I just passed EWR on the way home from DC and saw a Jet A330 take off, however there is still a Jet 77W parked on a remote stand along with a few other European aircraft, the Delta 763 to AMS and an Air India 77W.

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Yea same can be said over here. Luft has an 747 and A330 sitting at Fed terf and AF has a 330 there as well. Going to try and look around shortly see whats floating around.

According to Flightaware the 9W A330 departed for Athens. I guess they are ferrying the aircraft back to India or flying to DEL/BOM via ATH.

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Originally Posted by Iberia A340-600

According to Flightaware the 9W A330 departed for Athens. I guess they are ferrying the aircraft back to India or flying to DEL/BOM via ATH.

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They're making tech stops in Athens in both directions.

SAS should be leaving EWR tonight also if it hasn't already.