IRISH AIRSPACE was reopened at 9pm last night but it may take up to three days before airlines can resume full services to and from Ireland due to the ash cloud which has caused major travel disruptions across Europe.
The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) and the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority sanctioned the resumption of full services on a phased basis in Irish and UK airspace from 9pm last night to Europe, North America and the UK.
However, the IAA warned that the lifting of the restrictions was dependent on the absence of further aggressive volcanic activity and on the ash cloud, which was positioned between Iceland and Ireland last night, not moving over Ireland.
Following the agreement of the European Transport Ministers yesterday, the IAA, UK Civil Aviation Authority, and UK NATS agreed on a safe model to allow flight operations to resume in both Ireland and the UK.
Eamonn Brennan, CEO of the IAA, said it welcomed the agreement, which he said balanced safety priorities with the needs of the airline industry.
“This provides the foundation for a long-term solution to the volcanic ash issue. However, we need to be careful over the next few days as we are concerned that the ash cloud currently positioned between Iceland and Ireland may drift over the country.”
Ireland is one of the closest European countries to the exclusion zone.
Detailed technical guidance has been issued to airlines, which will now have to comply with management regimes including additional reporting, maintenance inspections and regular ash ingestion assessments.
Following the IAA announcement it is expected that airlines will focus on positioning aircraft and crews tomorrow. However, flight schedules will not return to normal for up to three days. Passengers are advised to consult airline websites before travelling to the airport for flights.
Ryanair yesterday extended the cancellation of flights between Ireland and the UK to 1pm on Friday. Flights to and from northern Europe are cancelled until 1pm tomorrow and the airline plans to use UK- and Irish-based aircraft to operate extra flights from this time to clear the backlog on European routes. It has also suspended airport check-in fees and baggage fees for a number of days.
Aer Lingus last night announced that it had cancelled all its flights until 1pm today and hope to resume a full schedule. Customers have been advised to visit aerlingus.com for up-to-date information on their flight status while affected passengers can also change flights for free and request refunds on the website.
The shutdown of air services has so far cost the country’s two largest airlines, Ryanair and Aer Lingus, over €70 million, it emerged. Ryanair said it was losing €6 million a day and Aer Lingus estimated the cost at €5 million daily, but both airlines said they could withstand the losses. Both airlines said they were continuing to pay their staff despite the cancellations.
An estimated 30,000 Irish people have been left stranded overseas by the mass cancellation of flights.
The cloud of ash from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano has forced the cancellation of over 60,000 flights across Europe since it erupted last Wednesday. Some European flights resumed yesterday due to an easing of restrictions. It was estimated about half of all flights operated as scheduled, with 60 per cent expected to fly today.
While the volcano is now generating less ash, Met Éireann has forecast that the weather over Ireland will remain unchanged for the next few days. This means the plume of smoke might not move away from its current path before the weekend.
Met Éireann said easterly winds at the weekend should move the plume of smoke and ash away from Irish airspace. It said such a change should bring the plume, if it still exists, westwards to Greenland.
A flight from Tenerife became the first aircraft containing passengers to land at an Irish airport since last week when it touched down at Shannon at about 7pm last night. The passengers on Aer Lingus flight EI 2767 were then bussed to Dublin.
A number of other aircraft were “repositioned” to Shannon during the day but none was carrying passengers and the airport was closed again later.
The World Health Organisation said ash particles remain high in the atmosphere and do not pose a health risk so far.
The Environmental Protection Agency has said there has been no deterioration of air quality associated with the volcanic ash plume.
Representatives of the IAA and the Government’s emergency taskforce are due to appear before the Oireachtas committee on transport today to discuss the current crisis in air travel. A further update is to be issued by the IAA at 10am today.
The French embassy in Dublin has organised buses to take French citizens stranded in Ireland home. The first bus departed Dublin with 91 passengers on Monday. The second was due to leave last night.