Volcanic ash discussion here please!

MicK10rt

looks like the BAW239 from london to boston is turning back to shannon. Wonder if this is ash related.

http://www.flightradar24.com/

heard on liveatc. Reporting smoke in the cockpit

MicK10rt

Latest forecast from the Met Office.

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/aviation/vaac/data/VAG_1306194460.png

Lapin

The Irish Aviation Authority have ordered airlines to suspend all flights to Scotland.
Ryanair say 36 flights have been cancelled today as a result.

Meanwhille the Civil Aviation Authority in the UK has left it up to individual airlines to make their own decisions. So we have BMI are still operating out of Scotland, but British Airways are not.

The result - Confusion and ultimately chaos.

Would it not be feasible for Ryanair to re-route some of their Scottish bound flights to Newcastle instead, in order to avoid the inevitable knock on effects the disruption will have on their schedules?

At least passengers choosing to accept this alternative can continue their journey to Scotland by rail or road.

Tenger

The IAA ban seems very heavy handed.

Do you think flights from Aberdeen to Dublin tomorrow will be cancelled?

novarock

Deleted User wrote: »

Do you think flights from Aberdeen to Dublin tomorrow will be cancelled?

I would reckon that after last years blanket bans and the cost involved that this year, if there is even a window of three hours they will fly.. unfortunately you wont know until the day..

novarock

novarock wrote: »

I would reckon that after last years blanket bans and the cost involved that this year, if there is even a window of three hours they will fly.. unfortunately you wont know until the day..

Crap because I am not sure whether I should book my bag onto the flight!:/

novarock

Deleted User wrote: »

Crap because I am not sure whether I should book my bag onto the flight!:/

If they dont fly its refundable..

silverharp

O'Leary - "The only dense material is in the UK Met office"

thats fighting talk!

Musicman2000

silverharp wrote: »

O'Leary - "The only dense material is in the UK Met office"

thats fighting talk!

He was on Sky news this morning, He said they put up an aircraft around Scotland for an hour and a half this morning and it came back with no signs of volcanic ash on it, and went on to say there is no ash cloud in Scotland.

Then 20 minutes later the UK transport minister comes on Sky news, and says they had tracked the ryanair craft on radar and it never went near the ash cloud. So who’s right and who’s wrong:)

A Dub in Glasgo

Ryanair statement

Ryanair confirms that it operated a one hour verification flight up to 41,000 feet in Scottish airspace this morning (24th May). The aircraft took off from Glasgow Prestwick, flew to Inverness, on to Aberdeen and down to Edinburgh - all of which according to the UK Met Office charts were in the “red zone” of “high ash concentration”.



During the flight there was no visible volcanic ash cloud or any other presence of volcanic ash and the post flight inspection revealed no evidence of volcanic ash on the airframe, wings or engines. The absence of any volcanic ash in the atmosphere supports Ryanair’s stated view that there is no safety threat to aircraft in this mythical “red zone” which is another misguided invention by the UK Met. Office and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).


Ryanair has received written confirmation from both its airframe and engine manufacturers that it is safe to operate in these so called “red zones” and, in any event, Ryanair’s verification flight this morning confirms that the “red zone” over Scotland is non-existent.


Ryanair has renewed its calls on both the UK CAA and the IAA to reopen the airspace over Scotland and allow airlines to operate flights safely following this morning’s verification flight which has demonstrated that the UK Met Office’s “red zone” forecasts are totally unreliable and unsupported by any evidence of volcanic ash concentrations whatsoever.

Lapin

Musicman2000 wrote: »

He was on Sky news this morning, He said they put up an aircraft around Scotland for an hour and a half this morning and it came back with no signs of volcanic ash on it, and went on to say there is no ash cloud in Scotland.

Then 20 minutes later the UK transport minister comes on Sky news, and says they had tracked the ryanair craft on radar and it never went near the ash cloud. So who’s right and who’s wrong:)

O'Leary (and I) will argue that Ryanair are right, as none of their scheduled services from Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow go near the ash cloud either and its therefore perfectly safe to fly them.

busyliving

Hey guys, just a quick one for ye...how low did last years ash issue cause trouble for? Was in more that 4 weeks?

Captain Commie

busyliving wrote: »

Hey guys, just a quick one for ye...how low did last years ash issue cause trouble for? Was in more that 4 weeks?

cant remember, but if this one goes on that long im screwed, flying to london for weekend in june

Tenger

http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2011/05/icelands_volcano?fsrc=rss

AS RYANAIR is reportedly continuing to check in passengers at Edinburgh, despite the airport being out of action due to the ash cloud, this just in from the "Have I Got News For You" Twitter feed:

"Amid a clash over flight disruptions, a Ryanair spokesman says the ash cloud is going nowhere near any major airports. Just like Ryanair"

gerbear1

Looks like BA did a similar test flight to Ryanair and also found it safe to fly:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/8534970/Iceland-volcano-BA-test-flight-found-nothing.html

This ban is looking ridiculous if this is the 2nd test in the red zone that has shown up with nothing. It's like as if they are trying to save face or something and make O'Leary look like the bad guy.

lord lucan

To be honest this reminds me of the last event last year. The Aviation Authorities are being super cautious and closing airspace at minimum risk whilst the Airlines are pushing hard saying it's all good and there's no risk.

Like much in life,the truth is somewhere in between. I do think the Aviation Authorities are a bit Gung Ho with airspace closures but likewise i wouldn't trust an airline boss saying they sent an aircraft up and it's grand. They're making no money whilst aircraft are sitting on the ground and it's in their interests to get things moving.

Colibri

Hmm, more disruptions? Does anyone have any idea about Spain? My girlfriend is supposed to be coming home tomorrow from there - hope the flight isn't disrupted!

homerjay2005

champions league final plans for saturday morning lie unsure, what are the chances of cancellations for sat morning to london?

highlydebased

Colibri wrote: »

Hmm, more disruptions? Does anyone have any idea about Spain? My girlfriend is supposed to be coming home tomorrow from there - hope the flight isn't disrupted!

99% sure there won't be disruption for Spain- the only disruption that may occur to that flight could be delayed/displaced aircraft affected somewhere else

highlydebased

Apparently they now expect it to stop erupting very shortly

Tenger

Colibri wrote: »

Hmm, more disruptions? Does anyone have any idea about Spain? My girlfriend is supposed to be coming home tomorrow from there - hope the flight isn't disrupted!

Should be fine:

Eruption seems to have paused and/or lessened ash emissions.
Heres the London VAAC latest chart: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/aviation/vaac/data/VAG_1306345773.png


From UK Met Office:
Latest information received from the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) indicates that the GrÍmsvötn volcano is no longer emitting ash, and only minor steam plumes from the crater up to around 300 metres. According to the British Geological Survey (BGS), the volcano is still active with on-going low level seismic activity reported, even though this has decreased.

Our advice for today is that the ash has now moved away from the UK toward the continent. Further ahead, Met Office latest volcanic ash cloud advice is that we continue to be in an improving situation and it seems likely that there will only be minimal ash over the UK and Europe as we enter the Bank Holiday weekend. CAA and NATS together with the individual airlines can advise how this improving picture will affect flights.