Volcanic ash crisis: naval ships deployed
Updated on 19 April 2010
Three Royal Navy ships are deployed by ministers to help bring home Britons stranded as a result of the flying ban caused by the volcanic ash crisis.
The Cabinet's emergency committee, Cobra, has ordered the deployment of three Royal Navy ships to help the repatriation of up to 200,000 Britons stranded abroad as the flying ban continues in British airspace as a result of the volcanic ash crisis.
HMS Ark Royal and HMS Ocean will be sent into the English Channel to help bring Britons home from France, while HMS Albion is on its way to Spain to pick up British troops and may be able to help bring home stranded holidaymakers.
Speaking after the Cobra meeting, the prime minister, Gordon Brown, said the safety of air passengers was of paramount importance.
"We are looking at the results of test flights that have been up in the air yesterday and today and looking also at the manufacturers' recommendations," he said.
"I believe this is one of the most serious transport disruptions we have faced. It's got financial consequences as well as human consequences and we will do everything in our power to make sure all the arrangements are in place to help people where possible to get back home."
Mr Brown said that he had been in discussions with the Spanish prime minister, Jose Luis Roriguez Zapatero, about using Madrid as a "hub" to co-ordinate repatriation efforts, with flights from other parts of the world continuing into the Spanish airport, which is unaffected by the ash cloud. Coach, train and ferry services could then be used to bring back passengers from Madrid.
The holiday companies Thomson and First Choice have launched their own repatriation programme to bring home 5,000 holidaymakers stranded in the Spanish resorts of Alicante and Malaga, using coaches and ferries. Thomson is also planning to use its cruise ships to bring home some passengers who had originally been due to fly home from Majorca and Madeira.
Airline workers are facing the risk of lay-offs if the disruption continues. One of the options being considered is to make staff - including baggage handlers, check-in staff and admin workers - take holidays now, rather than later in the year.
Experts say that - although wind patterns are likely to continue to blow the ash over the United Kingdom until Friday - there has been some reduction in the ash plume rising from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano.
Dr David Rothery, of the Open University Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, said: "If this situation persists, then the high altitude ash cloud will be starved of fresh air and will eventually disperse.
"There is no guarantee that the situation will not revert to what was happening between Thursday and Sunday, but there are grounds for cautious optimism."
