Europe flights resume, though Icelandic volcano's ash remains |
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| Europe flights resume, though Icelandic volcano's ash remains Posted: 18 Apr 2010 10:44 PM PDT |
KLM, Air France and other airlines said planes flown on test missions Sunday were unscathed by the ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano that hung over the North Atlantic, paralyzing air travel in Europe for an unprecedented fourth straight day. European Union officials said air traffic could return to half its normal level this morning if the dense cloud begins to dissipate. Germany has already allowed some flights to resume. The disruptions — 63,000 flights have been canceled so far — are causing aftershocks across several continents. Travelers have been unable to reach many European destinations. President Obama canceled plans to attend Sunday's funeral of the Polish president because of worry that Air Force One could not safely navigate through the volcanic grime.
Aviation experts said the cost to U.S. airlines that fly to Europe is more than $20 million per day. "The financial hit for U.S. airlines goes well beyond the passengers lost on the trans-Atlantic," said Tim Sieber, vice president of Boyd Group International, an aviation research firm. "What this illuminates is that events in places like Iceland can affect passenger demand in Fresno, Calif., and Lincoln, Neb., too." Test flights continued Sunday night. British Airways planned an evening flight over the Atlantic from Heathrow, one of Europe's busiest hubs. So far none of the pilots has reported problems, and the aircraft underwent detailed inspections for damage.
"Not the slightest scratch was found" on the 10 empty long-haul planes Lufthansa flew at low altitude Saturday to Frankfurt from Munich, spokesman Wolfgang Weber said. The test flights highlighted a lack of consensus on when to reopen the skies. Some airline officials complained that regulators had acted too broadly in closing airports from Ireland to Bulgaria shortly after the volcano erupted last week. Cargo shipments have also halted, leaving perishables rotting in warehouses. "It is clear that this is not sustainable. We cannot just wait until this ash cloud dissipates," EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas said. Volcanic ash can cause catastrophic damage to aircraft, particularly to engines. In several cases since 1982, tragedy was narrowly averted after pilots were able to restart engines after descending as much as 20,000 feet after traveling through ash.
The problem, according to aviation safety experts, is that too little is known about what levels of ash are safe. A jet engineer and the head of a non-profit safety foundation called for extensive new research to minimize the damage in the next big eruption. "It would have been pretty smart to spend $100 million on research to determine a safe level a few years ago," said Bill Voss, president of the Flight Safety Foundation. Al Weaver, former head of safety at engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney, said that regulators and the industry first grappled with what to do about volcanic ash two decades ago. They never anticipated that it could blanket a densely traveled region. Meteorologists warn that the situation over Europe is constantly changing because of winds and continuing eruptions from the volcano. That uncertainty is bumping up against Europe's need to resume flights. Contributing: Associated Press | |||||||||||||
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