Ash flight ban lifted for parts of UK tomorrow
Updated on 19 April 2010
Airports in Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England will reopen for flights tomorrow morning, as hopes rise the flight ban due to volcanic ash could be lifted elsewhere later in the day.
Flights will resume in Scotland and Northern Ireland at 7am tomorrow morning, National Air Traffic Service (Nats) announced, with flight paths also opening up between Teesside and Blackpool.
However, restrictions will remain in place for the rest of the UK until 7am Tuesday, despite successful test flights by BA in the south.
However British Airways said it would aim to resume some flights in and out of London's airports from 7pm tomorrow.
Manchester Airport said it would reopen at 9am tomorrow.
Nats said it may reopen airspace above England and Wales – including the London area – later tomorrow.
Nats said it descision was based on latest reports from the Met Office suggesting the ash cloud is expected to continue to drift south.
"The volcanic eruption has reduced and the volcano is not currently emitting ash to altitudes that will affect the UK", Nats said.
"Assuming there are no further significant ash emissions, we are now looking at a continuously improving situation."
Flight paths are set to open up across the Channel after French Prime Minister Francois Fillon announced that routes to Paris would re-open from 8am.
The Dutch Transport Minister said passenger flights will be allowed to depart from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam from tonight.
For more Channel 4 News coverage of the volcanic ash travel chaos
- Ash evacuation: how the Royal Navy would do it
- Volcanic ash travel chaos: Your questions answered
- Ash cloud advice for stranded passengers
- Volcanic ash costing airlines £130m a day
Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary said the airline plans to operate normally by lunchtime on Wednesday, unless the situation alters. He estimated it would take a "day or two" to clear the backlog of flights - which have been suspended since Thursday across most of the UK and Europe.
Flybe has announced it will resume flight services from 10am tomorrow, from Aberdeen, Belfast City, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Newcastle.
The ash crisis has cost the aviation industry £130m per day, according to International Air Transport Association estimates.
Earlier today, BA chief executive Willie Walsh revealed the travel turmoil was costing BA between £15m and £20m a day.
Walsh branded the ban "unnecessary" and called for commercial flying to resume after saying it had completed successfully a test flight over Ireland.
The government held a second emergency Cobra meeting this afternoon to discuss dispatching the navy to rescue stranded British holidaymakers.
Alex Thomson in Dover talks to stranded passengers
I've just finished speaking to a Geordie family who had two weeks at Disney, in Orlando, Florida. Their route home?
Well, you won't guess. Try this: Orlando to Detroit to Montreal to Nice by plane, Nice to Calais by hire car. All that with two young children.
But being Geordies, of course, they're all still smiling – and why not? They'll be back home just in time for the Toon to win the Championship.
About 150,000 Britons are currently stranded abroad, according to travel agents' association, Abta.
Earlier today, Gordon Brown announced that three naval ships had been deployed,while this afternoon a spokesman for the Ministry of Defence hinted at sending more.
"We are now looking at how a number of Royal Navy vessels could provide support the UK government efforts to assist British travellers stranded abroad and wishing to return home to the UK," he said.
However, the lockdown on flights has led to a backlog of passengers and air freight destined for the UK that could two weeks to clear, the Freight Transport Association has warned.
Flight restrictions were introduced on Thursday across the UK and much of mainland Europe following the eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajoekull volcano, amid fears its ash particles could cause engines to shut down.
