Flights restart but more ash threatens airspace
LONDON – The first flights in northern Europe have taken off after five days of inactivity caused by the spread of volcanic ash from Iceland.
Three flights departed from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport late on Monday, bound for New York, Shanghai and Dubai.
The BBC reported that there are hopes that many routes within Europe will be able to resume operations on Tuesday.
But UK air traffic officials said a new ash cloud spreading from Iceland cast doubt on plans to reopen UK airspace.
Air passengers who have already been seriously affected by flight cancellations due to the volcanic ash cloud over northern Europe will be placed at the back of the queue when services get back to normal.
British Airways said that when it did start flying again, those who had tickets for a specific flight would have priority and would not be bumped off for stranded passengers.
It said it would consider flying more planes, or larger aircraft, as a way of dealing with the backlog.
Qantas is urging Australian passengers stranded in Asia to take up the airline’s offer of a free flight back to Australia, from where they can restart their journey when European airspaces reopen.
Passengers who want to stay in Asia are being offered accommodation, but Qantas spokesman David Epstein said room availability was tight, particularly in Singapore, where some stranded flyers were having to be accommodated in Malaysia, an hour’s flight away.
Emirates says the disruption due to the cloud of ash has cost the airline somewhere in the region of $50 million.
Emirates is continuing to provide hotel accommodation in Dubai for thousands of passengers who were in transit when the disruption began.
To date, more than 250 Emirates’ flights have been cancelled and more than 80,000 passengers have been impacted by the ongoing disruption.
As things stand, the airline is not accepting passengers from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or Perth, or from connecting regional cities through its partnership with Virgin Blue, for travel to any European destinations apart from Moscow, Athens, Larnaca, Malta, Istanbul, Nice and Rome.
In Bangkok, tour operators are urging the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to help hundreds of tourists from Scandinavia, who have been stuck at Suvarnabhumi Airport for four days, many running out of money, food and drink.
Ian Jarrett
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
In Italy, the Meloni government congratulates itself for its tourism achievements
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive