- Passengers face further disruption as thousands of flights cancelled today
- Tourists urged to contact airlines before travelling to British airports
- Civil Aviation Authority say planes can tolerate current levels of ash
- Six-day flight ban has cost travel industry at least £1.1billion
- Backlog could 'take weeks' to clear, warns airline
Tens of thousands of passengers are still facing travel disruption as thousands of flights were cancelled today despite the reopening of all British airports after they were shut by the volcanic ash cloud for six days.
British Airways is operating long-haul flights from Heathrow and Gatwick but all short-haul flights remain cancelled until 1pm this afternoon. Six flights have so far departed from Heathrow this morning.
However, airlines have admitted clearing the backlog could 'take weeks' as passengers stranded due to cancellations are told to re-book on the next available flight with priority only given to those with special needs.
The chaos has so far cost the industry at least £1.1billion, according to the International Air Transport Association.
Home at last! The first passengers to arrive at Heathrow airport - on the BA122Y flight from Mauritius - since restrictions were lifted last night, and, right, Tom King, 19, is reunited with his girlfriend Brooke Sessions, 17, after flying to the UK from Vancouver
Prepare for take-off: An easyJet flight leaves Bristol Airport today after the no-fly restrictions were lifted
Other airlines have urged passengers to contact them before making their way to airports.
Airlines and tour operators say they are not able to resume normal services due to planes and crew not being in the right place.
BAA said it would be 'several days' before normal service resumes at Heathrow while other airports were struggling to get back usual operating capacity.
Hundreds of passengers hoping to fly today have arrived at the airport, but far fewer than on a normal day, he added. Heathrow would normally handle around 1,250 flights today, but the departures and arrivals boards were full of cancellations as just six flights took off at the airport and 26 landed.
Eurocontrol admitted 7,000 flights had been cancelled across Europe today, leaving thousands of passengers still in limbo.
Scientists in Iceland say the volcano has lost 80 per cent of its intensity since it first erupted - but have warned simmering tremors could cause a larger neighbouring volcano to erupt.
The UK no-fly zone, which saw nearly 100,000 flights cancelled, was dramatically lifted last night after a game of brinkmanship by British Airways boss Willie Walsh.
The BA chief executive sent 26 long-haul flights towards British airports and demanded that the air authorities allow them to land.
BACK IN THE AIR
BA: 22 flights have arrived in the UK since 9.15pm last night.
All longhaul flights to operate from Heathrow and Gatwick from today.
It will take 'considerable time' before airline restores full flying programme.
There will be shorthaul cancellations to and from London airports until 1pm today and possibly beyond.
easyJet: Some services to resume across UK and Europe today.
'Several days' for services to return to normal.
Virgin: Flying programme 'is returning to schedule' with 16 flights due to land at Heathrow today.
BMI: Flights to resume from 9.15am.
Qatar: One flight has landed in the UK since 9.15pm last night.
Iberia: One flight has arrived in the UK since 9.15pm last night.
Thomson: 'Significant number' of inbound flights operating into UK as part of repatriation programme which will 'last several days'.
Further confirmation of flights expected at 10am this morning.
Outbound flights remain cancelled until tomorrow.
Luton: Two flights landed and three departed at Luton this morning with the remainder either delayed or cancelled.
Heathrow: Six flights have departed from the airport this morning and 26 have landed.
Gatwick: EasyJet flights to Malta and Prague took off just after 6am.
Flights from Rotterdam and Geneva arrived this morning with several others en route from Atlanda, Copenhagen and Berlin. However the majority of flights still remain cancelled.
Stansted: EasyJet planes have taken off from Stansted to Palma Majorca, Amsterdam, Newcastle, with the first flight departing at 645am to Palma.
The first arrival at Stansted was an easyJet plane from Belfast at 730am, but the majority of flights due to arrive today remain cancelled.
Manchester: Twelve flights have taken off since last night and the first arrival came in at 4am. The airport warned it would take some time until flights returned to normal.
Birmingham: 70 cancellations so far today. Three departures and two arrivals have landed at the airport today.
'The advice for passengers expecting to travel today is to check with their airline. I cannot stress that strongly enough,' a spokesman said.
At first the planes heading towards Heathrow and Gatwick were turned away but last night Britain's Civil Aviation Authority and air traffic control body NATS caved in and finally ended the flying ban.
Experts today warned the travel industry faces a ‘huge logistical operation’ as some 150,000 Britons are currently stranded overseas.
And with conditions in the air changing rapidly there is no guarantee the decision to allow planes to fly and land will be permanent.
For those still waiting, the lifting of flight restrictions will not necessarily herald good news straight away, according to travel industry representatives.
Frances Tuke, spokesman for travel organisation Abta, said: ‘We don't know whether this is going to be a temporary situation or a permanent one.
‘We don't know what is going to happen with the eruption so there is that to consider.’
Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer added: ‘Passengers with future bookings in the near term may still face disruptions, as normal service is resumed, and so should continue to check with their travel organisers prior to departing.’
All UK airports were opened at 10pm - and the Government dramatically changed the rules on flying through volcano dust by giving airlines more responsibility to conduct their own tests for ash.
Airlines were today assessing how to restore order to their flight schedules and making plans to ensure they complied with requirements set down by the CAA.
These include conducting risk assessments and developing operational procedures to address any remaining risks and inspecting aircraft for ash damage before and after each flight.
Virgin Atlantic, for example, said its flying programme is 'returning to schedule' but warned some passengers may face delays.
While Qantas Airways said it would take 'some weeks' to clear the 15,000 of its stranded ticket-holders.
BA admitted flight capacity 'is a problem' with passengers stuck overseas due to the flying restrictions having to rebook on to the next available flight. Priority is only given to those with special needs, a spokesman said.
Last night there were suspicions that Transport Secretary Lord Adonis had been 'bounced' into action by Mr Walsh in an effort to avoid an embarrassing showdown in the run up to the General Election.
Labour was left bruised after being drawn into the BA cabin crew strike row and it is thought the party was desperate to avoid a repeat at such a crucial time.
Until now decisions on flying have been made solely by air traffic control on the advice of the Met Office.
Last night Mr Walsh was stinging in his criticism of the authorities who closed the airports, leading individual airlines to lose £200million a day.
The International Air Transport Association said disruptions to European air travel from the volcanic ash cloud have cost the industry at least £1.1billion.
Mr Walsh said: 'I don't believe it was necessary to impose a blanket ban on all UK airspace last Thursday.
'My personal belief is that we could have safely continued operating for a period of time.'
Mr Walsh's anger was intensified by the sight throughout yesterday of rivals - such as Germany's Lufthansa - flying over the UK above 20,000 feet on their way to the U.S.
It came after airline experts questioned whether the no-fly zone was a sensible response to a genuine threat - or another example of health and safety gone mad.
However, Andrew Haines, chief executive of the CAA, insisted the aviation regulator had not been ‘bullied’ by airlines into revising safety guidelines so that air space could be reopened.
He told GMTV today: ‘The airlines know that their safety record is a fundamental lynchpin of their operation.
‘The UK has one of the finest safety records in the world and there was no way they were going to compromise that and there was no way we would have allowed it.’
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All smiles: Passengers who have been stranded in Vancouver due to the volcano ash cloud chaos arrive at Heathrow airport last night
A Downing Street spokesman said the Prime Minister welcomed the decision by the CAA to allow UK airspace to be used.
The first BA flight to land arrived at London's Heathrow Airport just before 10pm last night after the CAA agreed to lift the blanket ban on airspace.
One of the first families arriving back in the UK today told of their race against time to get back to Britain from Florida so their three-year-old daughter could undergo a vital operation.
Alan and Margaret-Ann Maxwell had been due to fly back from Orlando to Scotland on Friday with daughters Keira, seven, and Carmen, three, when their flight was cancelled.
Carmen has a rare medical condition and there were fears she would not be home in time to undergo an operation at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.
Delays: The departures board in Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport after the UK's skies reopened today
But there was relief as their flight from Orlando International landed at 8am at Glasgow airport today.
Mr Maxwell, 51, from Dullatur, North Lanarkshire, said: ‘We are very grateful to get the flight but we had to pressurise very hard to get it.
‘If we hadn't been at the airport for four days solid from early morning to late at night, we would not have got there.
‘We are really glad to be back so Carmen can go ahead for her operation.’
Teacher Lynsey Stevenson, 35, from Edinburgh, was on a two-week holiday in Orlando with her husband Stuart.
She was due to fly back on Friday but arrived at Glasgow airport today.
She said: ‘It's just been chaos really. It has cost maybe £1,000 between the five of us.
‘I'm just glad to be back, safe and sound.’
One school admitted the no-fly ban is costing it £3,000-a-day to pay for 30 pupils stranded in America.
The group from Salendine Nook High, Huddersfield, were visiting Disney’s All Star Music resort in Florida when their flights home were cancelled.
The school is having to stump up costs for accommodation and food for the group.
Calling the six days of chaos a 'situation without precedent', the CAA added: 'The major barrier to resuming flight has been understanding tolerance levels of aircraft to ash.
'Manufacturers have now agreed increased tolerance levels in low ash density areas.'
CAA chairman Dame Deirdre Hutton said none of the no-fly zones caused by the volcanic ash cloud is currently over Britain.
She said in a statement: 'The new guidance allows a phased reintroduction from 10pm tonight of much of the airspace which is currently closed due to the volcanic ash plume over the UK.
'There will continue to be some 'no fly zones' where concentrations of ash are at levels unsafe for flights to take place, but very much smaller than the present restrictions.
'Furthermore, the Met Office advise that the "no fly zones" do not currently cover the UK.
'Making sure that air travellers can fly safely is the CAA's overriding priority.'
Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said all British airports could reopen and he expected them to remain open.
A spokesman for BAA, which operates Heathrow, said it would do everything possible to 'get people moving'.
'We are ready to open, but until further notice passengers must contact their airline before travelling to the airport,' the spokesman said.
'Not all flights will operate during the early period of opening, and we will do everything we can to support airlines and get people moving.'
Air safety experts said the CAA was well within its rights to step in to sort out the ash cloud aviation crisis.
Preparations: An airport worker washes the wings of a plane at Manchester airport today
Air traffic control company Nats had 'acted logically' in shutting down airspace, David Learmount, operations and safety editor of Flight International magazine said.
But he added that in hindsight it might be shown that Nats could have kept some services open.
Mr Learmount went on: 'Nats has the ultimate responsibility for aircraft that enters its controlled airspace but Nats can't act without the backing of the CAA.
'All along, Nats has been saying that it has been acting following consultation with the Met Office and the CAA.
'What Nats did in restricting UK airspace was completely logical because of the unprecedented nature of the problem.
'In the light of history it may be seen that they could have run some services.'
Transport Secretary Lord Adonis denied the decision to reopen airspace was the result of pressure from the airline industry.
Asked by Jeremy Paxman on BBC Newsnight about how much pressure the Government had come under, he said: 'They have obviously wanted to be able to fly their planes - of course they have - but that has not been the issue at stake here.
CAA chairwoman Dame Deirdre Hutton and BA chief executive Willie Walsh both stressed that safety of all air passengers was their main priority and concern
'The issue at stake here has been the assessment of the safety authorities as to what is the safe way in which planes can fly when there is a presence of ash.
'The fact which has changed in the last week is we have had a volcanic eruption and having to assess safe levels of ash content in the atmosphere within which planes can fly has been an urgent issue which the safety authorities have had to deal with.
'That's been what's changed over the last five days - it's not been pressure from the industry which has caused (it).'
Dame Hutton also admitted safety experts and aircraft manufacturers had collaborated with the CAA to confirm that planes can tolerate the volcanic ash.
She added: 'The CAA has drawn together many of the world's top aviation engineers and experts to find a way to tackle this immense challenge, unknown in the UK and Europe in living memory.'
A Downing Street spokesman said: 'The Prime Minister welcomes the decision by the Civil Aviation Authority to allow UK airspace to be used from this evening following rigorous analysis and testing of the flying conditions.
'This solution has been reached as a result of the close working between the Government, the CAA, airlines and the manufacturers, and will allow the thousands of UK citizens stranded abroad to return home to their families.
'The Government will continue to work with all of the relevant agencies to ensure that people can return home to the UK quickly and safely.'
Lord Adonis said there was now a 'better' understanding of the effect of volcanic ash on aircraft.
This graphic shows which flight paths will continue to be affected by the volcanic ash cloud
Experts have discovered the planes can handle ash from the erupting volcano near Eyjafjallajokull, Iceland, after extensive tests
'The CAA have been working around the clock with the aircraft manufacturing industry, the airlines and the research community to better understand how different concentrations of ash affect aircraft engines,' he said.
Nats said air traffic control services had still not resumed over an area of north west Scotland because of a 'dense concentration of volcanic ash' and warned the situation remained 'dynamic' as a result of changing weather conditions.
But it welcomed the ending of a 'period of disruption'.
A spokesman said: 'This brings to an end a period of disruption and uncertainty for air passengers.
'Our operation is fully staffed and already responding to the backlog of flights entering UK airspace.
'We will be working with the airlines and airports to resume normal operations as soon as possible.
'Due to the scale of the disruption, it will take some time for flights to resume normal operations and passengers are advised to check with their airlines for the latest information about flights.
'As a result, the CAA has now established a wider area in which it is safe to fly, consistent with the framework agreed by the EU transport ministers yesterday.
'In addition to this change in restrictions, we are maintaining increased capacity to help passengers get home. In total there are an extra 20,000 passenger places a day across Eurostar, Eurotunnel and the Channel ferries.'
The UK Border Agency warned people returning to the UK to expect queues at passport control as staff attempt to process large numbers of travellers.
SOURCE : MAILONLINE
