Express and postal operators have reported only minor disruptions as a result of the latestvolcanic ash cloud emissions from Iceland, despite the cancellation of more than 250 flights in
Europe today, and operators are confident of avoiding a repeat of last year’s severedisruptions.TNT Express told CEP-Research that the presence of the ash cloud over Scotland last night meantit had diverted one Edinburgh flight to East Midlands Airport, with its cargo being trucked up toEdinburgh today, and all its other flights had operated as planned.
“We were expecting this yesterday, and there has been very little disruption,” a spokesmansaid.
He said TNT did not expect any major disruptions this week. “We have been in close contact withEurocontrol, as always, and what we saw yesterday was that the smoke from the eruption yesterdaywas not going as high as on Saturday, and so we do not expect any major disruption, and neither didthe authorities.”
He said there were reports that part of the airspace in Iceland is going to be reopeningshortly. “So it is going in the right direction, although, of course, things can change quickly andwe will be continuing to monitor the situation.”
A number of airlines, including BA, KLM, Easyjet and Ryanair, cancelled flights to and fromseveral airports in Scotland and northern England last night and this morning, after being advisedthat there was low or medium densities of volcanic ash in the atmosphere that could prove a risk toflight operations. Airports likely to be affected from 1300 to 1900 BST include Londonderry,Glasgow, Edinburgh, Prestwick, Durham Tees Valley, Newcastle and Carlisle, air traffic servicescompany Nats said.
This year, in the UK, the decision on whether to fly or not in ash cloud conditions is down toindividual airlines, although they have to apply to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for finalapproval. UK transport minister Phillip Hammond told the BBC: “We won’t be closing airspace. Eventhough there will be ash present for parts of this week, that will not stop flying activity.”
The CAA said that new arrangements had been put in place since the disruptions caused by lastyear’s volcanic ash cloud that would “ensure high levels of public safety, while helping to limitany disruption”. Areas of high, medium and low density ash will be identified using informationprovided by the Met Office’s Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre. Any UK airline wishing to operate inareas of medium or high density ash will need to have a safety case accepted by the CAA.
“Many airlines already have such safety cases in place and agreed for medium density. None hasso far submitted a safety case to operate in high density ash,” the CAA said.
Meteorological reports from the UK Met Office, seen by CEP-Research, suggest that low-densityash clouds at heights of up to 20,000 feet (6,000 metres) will remain over parts of Scotlandtomorrow, and spread over large areas of northern Europe, including some areas of medium andhigh-density ash clouds over parts of northern Germany, Denmark, Poland and Baltic coastal areas.Depending on weather conditions, parts of northern Europe are likely to be affected at varioustimes until Saturday, according to the Met Office charts.
A Met Office spokesman told CEP-Research: “It depends how the weather pans out, but it islooking like a different situation from last year, because we do not have the persistent windcoming from the Iceland area; it is much more changeable. As we head towards the weekend, it lookslike winds from the west and the southwest will keep the ash cloud away.”
The TNT spokesman said he felt the industry was much better prepared than last year. “Companiesand airports have had some time to run contingency and communication tests.” He said TNT was wellpositioned, in part because of its strong road network. “We have been in close contact with theauthorities, and we are ready to reroute some flights, if need be, and take things instead bytruck,” he said.
