Volcanic ash causing major disruption to UK flights

The aftermath of the Icelandic volcanic eruption is beginning to be felt in Norway, the UK and Ireland and may continue to affect other parts of Northern Europe.  A volcanic ash cloud has drifted down from the Eyjafjallajoekull area of Iceland, the site of the second eruption within the space of month to hit the island.

The Met office put out warnings of the ash cloud and restrictions have now been imposed by the Air Traffic Control Service (Nats).

As a result of these restrictions all airports in Scotland are shut and major disruptions are expected in all other UK airports.  Flights have already been canceled at Manchester, Liverpool, Stansted, Newcastle and Birmingham.  Continental have also canceled some transatlantic flights from the USA due to the disruption.

With the cloud expected to continue moving south further widespread disruption across Europe is likely.  The Volcanic Ash Advisory centre has has forecast that the cloud of ash will "track over Europe tonight".  Amsterdam's Schipol airport are also warning of cancellations.

A Nats spokesperson said that the service is working closely with Eurocontrol and other European air traffic services to ensure that they "take the appropriate action to ensure safety".  The restrictions imposed are all inline with international aviation policy for volcanic ash.

The best example of the effects of volcanic ash is British Airways flight 9 on the 24th June 1982.  The route was being operated by a Boeing 747 and the aircraft lost power in all four engines due to ingestion of volcanic ash.  The aircraft glided clear of the cloud and the crew managed to relight the engines before diverting to Jakarta and landing with power in three engines.

Source: BBC News