Volcanic Ash Forces Berlin Airport Closures

A cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland that has caused headaches for air travelers spread to Germany on Wednesday, forcing the closure of Berlin's airports and disrupting hundreds of flights, but experts said the eruption appeared be winding down.

European air traffic controllers said they expect about 700 flights to be canceled on Wednesday, but Eurocontrol added the ash cloud from Iceland's Grimsvotn volcano appeared to be dissipating and traffic in European airspace could return to normal Thursday.

The cloud forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights over Britain on Tuesday as winds blew the ash over Scotland, but British airspace was largely clear on Wednesday.

In Iceland, a volcano expert said that observers at the crater were reporting only steam, an indication that the eruption could be nearing its end.

"It's not over," said Pall Einarsson, from the University of Iceland. "But it's declining rapidly."

German air traffic control ordered all flights to and from Berlin's Tegel and Schoenefeld airports, stopped at 11:00 a.m. (0900GMT). Airports in Bremen, Hamburg and Luebeck, have already been closed for hours, causing hundreds of flights to be struck. The flight ban is expected to remain in place for much of Wednesday, Eurocontrol said. Sweden saw some 20 flights canceled.

While experts say particles in the ash could stall jet engines and sandblast planes' windows, many argue the flight bans are a massive overreaction by badly prepared safety regulators.

A British Airways test flight passing through the affected area was unaffected, said Willie Walsh, the chief executive of International Airlines Group ? formed from the merger of BA and Iberia.

"We flew in the red zone for about 45 minutes at different altitudes over Scotland" and the north of England, Walsh told BBC radio. "All the filters were removed and will be sent to a laboratory for testing. The simple answer is that we found nothing."

Irish budget airline Ryanair has also challenged the results, saying Tuesday it had sent its own airplane into Scottish airspace and found no ash in the atmosphere.

But, German transport minister Peter Ramsauer insisted the precautions were justified, and said that authorities were better prepared after the Eyjafjallajokull volcano eruption last year forced the closure of European air space for five days, stranding millions.

"We have developed a very refined regulation since the big ash cloud last April," Ramsauer told ARD public broadcaster. "We are much better prepared to handle such a situation."

Last year, European aviation authorities closed vast swaths of European airspace as soon as they detected the presence of even a small amount of volcanic ash in the atmosphere. This year, they are trying a more sophisticated approach.

Aviation authorities will give airlines information detailed information about the location and density of ash clouds. Any airline that wants to fly through the ash cloud can do so, if it can convince its own national aviation regulators it is safe.

The Grimsvotn volcano began erupting on Saturday, sending clouds of ash high into the air.

The main international body representing carriers, the International Air Transport Association, complained to the British government Tuesday about the way it had handled the issue, saying it should have had Cessna planes ready to carry out tests, instead of relying on the weather service.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/05/25/136636888/volcanic-ash-forces-berlin-airport-closures?ft=1&f=1006

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