Volcanic ash to disrupt air travelers: deja vu?

Will travelers in North America and elsewhere face serious disruptions again from a repeat of an Icelandic volcanic eruption about a year ago that caused the worst peacetime air travel disruption in history? It’s possible but probably not likely, experts predict.
 

However, flights between London City airport, Heathrow and Scotland were cancelled Tuesday morning. There were also disruptions at other airports. But weather forecasters have predicted that wind shifts will blow the ash away from British air space.
 

The prevailing winds were expected to blow the ash west all week, meteorologists said.
 

Because of the wind and the weight of the ash particles, which will make them drop faster, officials did not expect a repeat of the widespread disruption of European air traffic in May and April of last year, when an eruption at another Icelandic volcano grounded more than 100,000 flights, and also stranded passengers across Europe.
 

European Union’s transport chief said he did not expect the Icelandic volcano ash to provoke a widespread closure of flights.
 

Siim Kallas noted that this time the volcano, weather and European response are different than in April 2010, when an eruption caused chaos.
 

"We are still looking at a very challenging week for passengers and for the airlines," said the EU transport commissioner. He added:
 

"Although we are partly dependent on the weather and the pattern of ash dispersion, we do not at this stage anticipate the widespread airspace closures and the prolonged disruption we saw last year," he said.
 

The British Foreign Office said it was "working closely with the travel industry and Whitehall partners to ensure that air passenger are given accurate and up-to-date advice" and was "coordinating closely with EU partners, many of whom have also been affected".
 

Forecasters said generally the ash should only be an issue through Friday.
 

So far, any flight cancellations are being decided by individual airlines. Officials suggested passengers check their own scheduled airlines if they are heading towards European destinations.
 

Kallas said that Europe has learned its lesson and is now better prepared to "avoid blanket closure" of airports.
 

Last year, the plume from a different Icelandic volcano landed first in Scotland before spreading quickly across Britain and Ireland, then drifting across most of Europe.
 

The latest Iceland problem: the eruption of the Grimsvötn volcano forced US President Barack Obama to cut short his visit to Ireland.
 

In all 252 flights have been cancelled today across Europe because of the volcanic ash, with Heathrow losing 26 services to and from Scotland, reported the Telegraph.
 

Glasgow Airport is operating a limited schedule.
 

Iceland’s Met Office said that the force of the eruption beneath Europe’s largest glacier, Vatnajokull, was little changed.
 

Last year, an eruption at another volcano on the island closed European airspace for six days, grounding 100,000 flights at a cost of US$1.7 billion, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
 

“What most of the airlines are trying to encourage the regulators to do this year is to have the exclusion zone around Iceland,” said Michael O’Leary, chief executive officer of Ryanair Holdings Plc. He predicted “a lot fewer problems this time around.”
 

“Our No. 1 priority is to ensure the safety of people both onboard aircraft and on the ground,” Andrew Haines, chief executive of the CAA, said in a statement. He added:
 

“We can’t rule out disruption, but the new arrangements that have been put in place since last year’s ash cloud mean the aviation sector is better prepared and will help to reduce any disruption in the event that volcanic ash affects U.K. airspace.”
 

Iceland, with a population of about 320,000, is one of the world’s most volcanically and geologically active countries with frequent eruptions.
 

By Anne Kao