Airports closed as volcanic ash drifts toward UK

I_cannot_resist-however_hard_I_try...

It's an ill wind that blows no good..

---------- Post added at 12:38 ---------- Previous post was at 12:35 ----------

Latest.

Three Royal Navy ships will be drafted to help return Britons stranded abroad as UK airspace remains restricted.
The move was announced after the UK's emergency committee Cobra met to discuss options in addressing travel chaos caused by a volcanic ash cloud.
The ships HMS Ark Royal, HMS Ocean and HMS Albion are heading for Spain and unspecified Channel ports.

[Bluffdemon]

well we have just had our first aircraft fly past our house today it was a business jet it was around 1pm ( in the south manchester area )

[Kymmy]

We've had quite a few VFR aircraft, bedfordshire police helicopter resides a few miles away and we've seen that a few times, nothing though high up apart from a prop driven stuff

[Bluffdemon]

its the first aircraft ive heard or seen in days since airspace was closed down

[budwieser]

The volcano is looking less active according to this.....http://www.nats.co.uk/

" The BBC's Lorna Gordon in Iceland says:
The top of the ash cloud reaching into the sky has lowered. It is no longer registering on weather radar and scientists estimate its maximum height is now around 3,000-4,000m. Mush less ash is now being released into the atmosphere compared to the beginning of this eruption and scientists say they believe the volcanic activity may now be entering a different phase. "

[Will21st]

Originally Posted by Maggy J

Well I suspect that a lot of cover workers will be ask to stand in for missing workers through out all the varying disciplines.I've got work for the rest of the week.

Even the deputy who usually gives me work is stuck in Crete.Which means that the school will be without it's art technician as she is his wife.

Anyone else here having to cover for missing staff?

Yep,one of our cameramen is stuck in California,so I'll work his Friday shift
if he isn't back by then.

[moiraf100]

Daughter in Oz has been told that the earliest flight home is 6th May.
No-one with a British passport can travel on Emirates to Dubai as there is no onward flight to UK.
No recompense either as it's an Act of God!

In-laws are having a whale of a time in Portugal, where they had no trouble extending their stay at their self-catering holiday villa seeing as nobody has arrived to take their place. They seem quite happy to sit it out.

[budwieser]

Just announced on sky news.
Plans in place to open scottish airspace at 06.00 tomorrow, Midlands at 12.00 and Southern England at 18.00. Lets hope.

sky link

looks like willy walsh is playing a dangerous game to me

The airline's chief executive Willie Walsh yesterday took a two-hour flight at 40,000ft which turned up no sign of damage to the aircraft or its engines.
The results prompted BA to call on the Government urgently to adopt new policies which would allow airlines to resume flying.
But the BA findings contradicted information from military sources.

I don't think he's taking account of the accumulative effect of repeatedly flying through ash clouds which a lot of planes would do

[Julian]

Reading THIS may deter some people from getting on a plane for a while.

Passenger safety is the most important issue here and the airline companies should remeber that.

[wwe]

what happening to the people what if they got no money are the airlines looking after them

[budwieser]

Originally Posted by wwe

what happening to the people what if they got no money are the airlines looking after them

Hopefully wwe, if not i`m sure that the British spirit will come through and others in the same boat will lend a hand.

[Derek]

Scotland and Northern England seem to be opening up from 0700 tomorrow, just in time for my flight on Wednesday

[TheDaddy]

Originally Posted by Derek S

Scotland and Northern England seem to be opening up from 0700 tomorrow, just in time for my flight on Wednesday

Yeah I have a flight on Wednesday, not looking forward to it now.....