Volcanic ash cloud closes most of European air space

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 02:52:00 -0400

UPDATED AT 04.00 UTC ON APRIL 18

The eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland continues to cause severe disruptions to air traffic in large parts of Europe. The ash cloud from the volcano is spreading in all directions over the continent. The vast majority of European countries are keeping their air space closed for flights. The latest charts also show that the cloud has started to spread west over the Atlantic, towards Canada. This will most likely have an impact on trans-Atlantic flights.

The following countries are expected to keep their air space closed for air traffic till at least 12.00 UTC (14.00 Central European Time) on April 18: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy (north), the Netherlands, Norway (south), Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

The ash cloud is expected to cover nearly the whole of western and eastern Europe by the evening of Sunday, and will have extended beyond the Ural mountains, over Kazachstan and until the Mongolian border. Having stayed clear of it until now, the air space of Spain, Greece and Turkey will also be penetrated.

While Belarus and the Ukraine have followed the rest of Europe with closure of their air space, Russia continues to accept flights.

Some countries with general air space closures are keeping (part of) their upper air space open for traffic, although closure of other air space around them generally doesn't make any flights possible.

Thousands of flights have been cancelled. Eurocontrol states that a typical day sees around 30,000 flight movements, but not more than 10,000 are currently being operated and this number is likely to drop. Transatlantic flights are being re-routed where possible to avoid the ash cloud, and some shorter-range aircraft may have to make an additional fuel stop. Volcanic ash can cause a major safety risk to aircraft, as the ash particles can block engine air inlets and cause the engine to stall.

Some companies received special permissions from their national aviation authorities to operate ferry flights to get their aircraft to the correct airports, so that the schedule can be picked up with minimum disruptions once the restrictions are lifted. KLM and Lufthansa have operated flights to investigate whether the ash cloud has any adverse effect on the aircraft, and have reported none, although they stress that the results are not conclusive.

Click here to see a map outlining the spread of the volcanic ash cloud over Europe

Macquarie buys 53 aircraft from ILFC

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 02:44:00 -0400

The Australian Macquarie Group will take over 53 aircraft from leasing company ILFC. The deal, worth around two billion US dollars, includes mainly Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s with an average age of less than four years.

AeroUnion A300 crashes in Monterrey

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 04:00:00 -0400

An Airbus A300 Freighter of Mexican carrier AeroUnion crashed while attempting to land in Monterrey, Mexico. The two pilots and three people on the ground were reportedly killed. Initial reports stated that the aircraft had just taken off for Los Angeles.

German controllers to strike next week

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 03:53:00 -0400

The union for German air traffic controllers GdF has stated that its members will go on strike in the week of April 19 for better working conditions. The strike will initially affect several smaller German airports, but will not lead to problems at the country's main airports of Frankfurt and Munich.

Avianca to connect Medellin with Madrid

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 03:50:00 -0400

Avianca Airlines will launch direct flights between Medellin in Colombia and Madrid, Spain. The new flights will be the first direct link between Medellin, which is the second largest city in Colombia after Bogota, and a destination in Europe.

Wataniya Airways expanding into Europe

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 03:46:00 -0400

Kuwait carrier Wataniya Airways will expand its route network by adding destinations in Europe. The airline will start flying to Istanbul at the beginning of May (albeit to Sabiha Gokcen Airport on the Asian side of the city), followed by Rome by the end of May and Vienna in the beginning of June. Wataniya operates a fleet of Airbus A320s.

Cathay A330 makes emergency landing in Hong Kong

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 06:29:00 -0400

A Cathay Pacific Airbus A330-300 made an emergency landing at Hong Kong Airport following an engine failure. The aircraft was approaching Hong Kong coming from Surabaya in Indonesia when the crew reported that the left engine had shut down. Preliminary reports indicated that the aircraft's second engine had to be shut down too, but this remains unconfirmed. The crew managed to land the aircraft safely but most tyres on the main gear struts became deflated due to the high energy braking. All 309 passengers and 13 crew members evacuated safely, and five passengers were taken to hospital for treatment of minor injuries. The incident caused the closure of one of Hong Kong's two runways until the aircraft was towed away.

MK Airlines grounded again

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 06:22:00 -0400

British cargo carrier MK Airlines has been grounded following financial trouble of the company. It temporarily stopped operating previously, in 2008, and re-started flights after securing funds from an investment company. It now has run out of money. With its three Boeing 747-200 Freighters, MK Airlines primarily operated from Ostend in Belgium to destinations in Africa.

Merpati 737 skids off runway in Papua

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 04:14:00 -0400

A Boeing 737 of Indonesian carrier Merpati skidded off the runway after landing at Mankowari in West Papua. The plane failed to stop after landing and ended up partially in a shallow river bank near the runway. The fuselage broke in two, and about 20 of the 103 passengers and six crew members on board received some injuries. The aircraft had arrived on a domestic service from Sorong.

Seven killed as avalanche buries Mil Mi-8 helicopter

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 10:52:00 -0400

Seven people, including five German tourists and two crew members, were killed when their Mil Mi-8 helicopter was buried under an avalanche on the Siberian peninsula of Kamchatska. The avalanche is believed to have hit the helicopter just after landing on the site, some 70 km for the town of Jelisovo. A sixth tourist and another crew member have been admitted to hospital in a serious condition. There were a total of 18 people on the helicopter. The Germans were visiting the region on an adventure snowboard holiday.