Airlines and air traffic controllers across Europe watched and waited nervously Tuesday as a cloud of volcanic ash spread west from Iceland, threatening to disrupt flights on a wide scale.
The ash cloud was expected to reach London’s Heathrow airport — the world’s busiest international air travel hub — around lunchtime, Europe’s air traffic control organization Eurocontrol said Tuesday.
Concentration of ash there is expected to be low and it’s not yet clear if Heathrow flights will be canceled.
The ash cloud is forecast to cover all of British airspace by 1 a.m. Wednesday morning, Britain’s weather agency, the Met Office, said Tuesday.
It will be densest over Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England, the Met Office said. Heathrow is in the south.
There is a “strong possibility” ash could also affect Denmark and parts of Scandinavia Tuesday, Eurocontrol said.
At least 252 flights to and from Scotland and Northern Ireland were canceled Tuesday, according to the agency.
A volcanic ash cloud a year ago forced the cancellation of thousands of flights per day at the peak of the problem.
Volcanic ash can be a serious hazard to aircraft, reducing visibility, damaging flight controls and ultimately causing jet engines to fail.
British Transport Minister Phillip Hammond was due to chair a high-level meeting about the ash cloud on Tuesday, the British government said.
Airlines have been making the case that it is safe to fly through ash clouds of medium density, Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority said Tuesday.
Carriers including British Airways, Virgin and EasyJet are now free to fly through clouds of up to 4,000 micrograms per cubic meter if they feel it is safe to do so, Richard Taylor of the CAA told CNN.
The budget airline Ryanair, one of Europe’s biggest carriers, separately argued Tuesday that Scottish airspace should not be closed after a test flight it carried out found no ash.
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One Response
“Airlines and air traffic controllers across Europe watched and waited nervously Tuesday as a cloud of volcanic ash spread west from Iceland, threatening to disrupt flights on a wide scale..”
I think you mean east