Major U.K. Airports Reopen; Amsterdam Stays Shut

Published November 17, 2014

Britain's two major international airports reopened to some flights on Monday, aviation authorities said, after a no-fly zone was imposed because of a dense cloud of drifting volcanic ash.

And Europe's air traffic management agency it appears the cloud is beginning to disperse. Charts published by Brussels-based Eurocontrol showed it gradually breaking up and retreating during the day.

London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports were operating with restrictions, Britain's National Air Traffic Service said. But Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, another of Europe's biggest air travel hubs, was to remain closed until 2 p.m. (1200 GMT; 8 a.m. EDT). Eurocontrol's charts showed the ash plume retreating by noon from the Netherlands

The London airports were open, but their proximity to the no-fly zone meant severe restrictions on their capacity. Gatwick said it wouldn't be able to accept any arrivals until early afternoon, but about 100 flights were expected to depart. Authorities at Heathrow warned passengers to expect delays and cancellations, and said they would reduce arrivals from 44 an hour to about 30.

Airports in Northern Ireland, much of Scotland -- including Edinburgh and Aberdeen -- and parts of Wales were also under the no-fly order as winds pushed the ash plume into Europe's busy airspace.

In Ireland, Dublin's international airport closed early Sunday evening until at least noon Monday (1100 GMT, 7 a.m. EDT). Some airports in Ireland's west were closed.

Airports across Britain and Ireland were closed for much of Sunday, and authorities have warned travelers to expect delays through the early part of the week. Britain's weather service says the northwest winds should shift midweek, redirecting the ash away from Britain.

Ash can clog jet engines. The April 14 eruption at Iceland's Eyjafjallajokul volcano forced most countries in northern Europe to shut their airspace between April 15-20, grounding more than 100,000 flights and an estimated 10 million travelers worldwide. The shutdown cost airlines more than $2 billion.

In southern Iceland, there were "no major changes" in activity at the volcano, the Icelandic weather service said late Sunday. It said the ash plume was higher than in previous days because of calm weather.

It said "presently there are no indications that the eruption is about to end."

Airlines complained bitterly over the air space closures last month, calling them an overreaction. The European air safety agency last week proposed drastically narrowing the continent's no-fly zone because of volcanic ash to one similar to that used in the U.S. The proposal still must be approved.

Eurostar, which runs trains between Britain and continental Europe, said it was adding four extra trains -- an additional 3,500 seats -- between London and Paris on Monday.

Eyjafjallajokul (pronounced ay-yah-FYAH-lah-yer-kuhl) erupted in April for the first time in nearly two centuries. During its last eruption, starting in 1821, its emissions rumbled on for two years.

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