Its day four since the Iceland’s volcano,Eyjafjallajokull, erupted spewing hazerdous ashes into the air. Since that major European airlines such as British Airways, Lufthansa, and Air France Canceled most of their flights in and out of their major hubs. KLM, Air France, and Lufthansa did test flights out of desperation in an attempt to prove that the airspace is safe. They did that without passengers on board of course.
So far all test flights touch down safely but that didn’t lift the restrictions. British Airways canceled all service flight for Monday and Lufthansa canceled their flights worldwide. Only a hand full of flights were allowed to squeeze through the gaps of the ash clouds. There are signs of relief in the ash clouds as the wind patterns change, But the airlines are eager to fly right away before the ash clouds clear up. For every flight thats not in the air they loose money. The exact date when all flights will be resumed is not clear but it is expected to be on Tuesday.
Eurocontrol said only 4,000 flights out of a usual 24,000 in European airspace were made today on Sunday. About 63,000 flights have been canceled since Thursday. The ministers of EU are expected to hold a video conference on Monday to discuss the situation. KLM sent its 737-800 to its maximum ceiling altitude of 41,000 ft and reported that the atmosphere was in order. After it landed a full inspections was performed and no problems were found. The experts cautioned that the test flights will not cause a resumption in all flights despite the airline industry loosing millions a day.
Written by Raybert Laing
I currently attend S.J.C in Belize City I’m an aviation enthusiast and also have an interest in biology chemistry and physics