Recent Icelandic Volcanic Eruption Shuts down UK Airspace

[Crunk415balla]

It looks like everyone except VS finally left SFO today, that is a good thing.

[Chris Kilroy]

BA274 is on the gate now at LAS, having been towed from the remote stand it's been on since its air return Thursday evening. ETD to EGLL 1:40am local (0840 GMT) tomorrow (Tues).

[Evan]

Aircraft manufacturer Airbus says that flying through ash clouds should be strictly avoided

Thus far, the designers and engineers all say "unsafe" and the operators say "probably safe". So today they are flying again. And that is the state of aviation safety.

IMHO, I think any aircraft that traverses this ash should have its ETOPS revoked until the engines are overhauled or replaced.

[mawheatley]

Looks like we're going to see more BA returns. Last night their website was saying this: We are still hoping to operate longhaul flights which are scheduled to depart after 4pm on Tuesday 20 April, however this remains subject to the airspace being re-opened.

Now they have this on the home page: Unfortunately we have now had to cancel ALL longhaul services departing from the UK on Tuesday 20 April as well as ALL inbound longhaul flights due to arrive before 12:00 UK local time tomorrow.

I suppose that means those in the air will be allowed to continue, if they get in before 1200, but only for airports as far south as NCL. NATS is keeping UK airspace closed below FL200. (Source: http://www.nats.co.uk)

[phoneman]

Cnn

Experts: Why planes should stay grounded

By Thair Shaikh, CNN



Flight cancellations are likely to continue as long as there is ash in the atmosphere say aviation regulators

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Jet engine manufacturers specify zero levels of atmospheric ash for safe travel
• Air travel group the International Air Transport Association criticizes government handling
• Guy Gratton at Britain's Cranfield University backs scientific basis for flight restrictions
• At least one private charter airline is flying passengers by avoiding controlled airspace

London, England (CNN) -- Commercial European flights will be severely disrupted as long as some levels of ash are detectable in the air, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) told CNN on Monday.
Despite growing pressure from air travel groups such as the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and major airlines like British Airways, the CAA said that all current jet engine manufacturers specify zero levels of atmospheric ash for safe flying.
The CAA added that unless jet engine manufacturers changed their operating specifications, something it added was highly unlikely in the short-to-medium term, the restrictions will continue to apply.
Addressing calls from some quarters of the European travel industry to lift or ease flight restrictions, a CAA spokesman said: "We need evidence to prove that it is safe to fly... we have evidence that ash adversely affects aircraft and at the moment the manufacturers' guidelines are zero rating with respect to ash."


The spokesman said that it would be very unlikely that NATS, the British air traffic control provider, would lift restrictions in the current circumstances.
The CAA follows guidelines set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a U.N. agency that talks to aircraft manufacturers, airlines, governments and other organizations to draw up its safety regulations. All European states follow ICAO rules.
ICAO established the International Airways Volcano Watch (IAVW) system, which is collating data for the current volcanic ash spreading over large parts of northern Europe.
ICAO says on its Web site: "Since volcanic ash is composed of very abrasive silica materials, it can damage the airframe and flight surfaces, clog different systems, abrade cockpit windows and flame-out jet engines constituting a serious safety hazard."
NATS decides on whether to restrict flights in designated airspace based on information provided by the UK's Met Office.
The Met Office is currently conducting numerous tests every day to measure the presence of ash in the atmosphere. It does this by using "cloud-base" recorders at various locations to fire lasers into the air to detect particles and by research test flights.
Helen Chivers, a Met Office meteorologist, told CNN: "Ash is not restricted to a particular layer of the atmosphere; some is now being detected on the surface [ground] which means that aircraft would have to fly through it to reach their destinations."
Chivers said that the Met did not provide information about the concentrations of ash, only where it was present and forecasts of how the ash clouds would move with the changing weather patterns.
Responding to airline and air travel group pressure, a NATS spokeswoman told CNN: "Our decisions are not an over-reaction, we did not make them on a whim. We are anxious to fly but these are unprecedented times that are rewriting the rules."
I saw a really strange and complex set of layers of ash
--Guy Gratton, Cranfield University



Some experts back NATS decision to restrict flights. Guy Gratton, head of the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements at Britain's Cranfield University, flew into the skies Thursday and saw "a really strange and complex set of layers of ash," with a layer of perfectly clear air suddenly giving way to a layer of ash, he told CNN.
If particles of ash enter a jet engine, when they come out they can solidify on turbine blades, he said.
A group of his colleagues took to the skies Sunday, and in some places saw "quite high concentrations of ash," he said. "I suspect it's going to be a few days yet" before it's safe to fly, Gratton added.
However on Monday IATA "sharply criticized" European governments for their handling of airspace rules, saying "Governments must place greater urgency and focus on how and when we can safely re-open Europe's skies."
Giovanni Bisignani, director general and CEO of IATA told CNN the disruption is costing airlines at least $200 million a day in lost revenues and that if flight restrictions continue, some small and medium-sized airlines could be put in jeopardy.
British Airways' Chief Executive Willie Walsh said: "The analysis we have done so far, alongside that from other airlines' trial flights, provides fresh evidence that the current blanket restrictions on airspace are unnecessary.
"We believe airlines are best positioned to assess all available information and determine what, if any, risk exists to aircraft, crew and passengers."
But until NATS lifts its restrictions, a decision ultimately vetoed by its regulator the CAA, no aircraft are allowed to fly in the restricted zones. The British Airways test flight from London's Heathrow to Cardiff in Wales on Sunday required special NATS permission.
Similar airspace rules govern the air traffic flows over other European countries which also follow ICAO rules and are therefore likely to follow similar decision patterns.
There are exceptions like Hangar8, a private charter airline based in Oxfordshire, England, which confirmed to CNN that its aircraft flew to Europe from the UK over the weekend. The company flew outside of the controlled airspace and against official NATS advice but claimed its flights were safe.

[mawheatley]

There are exceptions like Hangar8, a private charter airline based in Oxfordshire, England, which confirmed to CNN that its aircraft flew to Europe from the UK over the weekend. The company flew outside of the controlled airspace and against official NATS advice but claimed its flights were safe.

"Claimed the flights were safe?" More like claimed they didn't crash! (Well they didn't, so yes, it's an accurate claim.) That's like a dog owner saying "he doesn't bite." What he's saying is "he's never bitten YET!"

[phoneman]

"Claimed the flights were safe?" More like claimed they didn't crash! (Well they didn't, so yes, it's an accurate claim.) That's like a dog owner saying "he doesn't bite." What he's saying is "he's never bitten YET!"

It's obvious to us here, but most people have no idea how much air a jet engine sucks in. Even if there is just a small amount of ash in the sky, an engine can suck in tons of it, cause major damage and a shut down!

[Evan]

Guy Gratton, head of the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements at Britain's Cranfield University, flew into the skies Thursday and saw "a really strange and complex set of layers of ash," with a layer of perfectly clear air suddenly giving way to a layer of ash, he told CNN.
If particles of ash enter a jet engine, when they come out they can solidify on turbine blades, he said.
A group of his colleagues took to the skies Sunday, and in some places saw "quite high concentrations of ash," he said. "I suspect it's going to be a few days yet" before it's safe to fly, Gratton added.

--------

British Airways' Chief Executive Willie Walsh said: "The analysis we have done so far, alongside that from other airlines' trial flights, provides fresh evidence that the current blanket restrictions on airspace are unnecessary.
"We believe airlines are best positioned to assess all available information and determine what, if any, risk exists to aircraft, crew and passengers."

Yes, good point CEO. Airlines are better "positioned" to make a risk assessment than, oh, say the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements at Britain's Cranfield University.

But only if we are talking about risk to the bottom line, eh?

Hell will soon be full of CEO's.

[mawheatley]

Hell will soon be full of CEO's.

While Heaven will, unfortunately, be full of their innocent customers.

[Highkeas]

BA274 is on the gate now at LAS, having been towed from the remote stand it's been on since its air return Thursday evening. ETD to EGLL 1:40am local (0840 GMT) tomorrow (Tues).

I read somewhere (perhaps on the BBC site) that BA is flying 50 Heathrow bound flights today but that they have unspecified contingency landing sites.

[mawheatley]

I read somewhere (perhaps on the BBC site) that BA is flying 50 Heathrow bound flights today but that they have unspecified contingency landing sites.

Yeah - 284 out of SFO is on its way over for sure, but http://www.nats.co.uk is saying all airspace below 20K is closed south of Newcastle. It will be interesting to see where they end up.

[HS-TGY]

All UK airports are set to open again at 10.00pm local time this evening. Apparently, the airspace closures are being 'phased out'.

[mawheatley]

From the NATS website:

Response to CAA statement
NATS has received new direction from the UK’s safety regulator, the CAA, on applying restrictions to UK airspace following the volcanic eruption in Iceland.


As soon as revised accurate information is available from the MET Office on the location of the dense ash cloud, NATS will review airspace availability and provide an update to airline operators on any airspace that has been restricted for safety reasons. We will issue a further statement by 2200.


(2200 local is only 40mins from now!)

[WILCO737]

http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/natur/0,1518,690205,00.html

German only. The flight of the airplane to measure where the ashcloud can be found.

And the official report:

http://www.bmvbs.de/Anlage/original_1134440/Report-of-Falcon-Flight-19-April-2010.pdf

[LH-B744]

All UK airports are set to open again at 10.00pm local time this evening. Apparently, the airspace closures are being 'phased out'.

Can't wait to see the Heathrow arrivals in action again. We have to get the EDDL departures back to normal.