Airports in Northern Germany and Scandinavia face closure after 500 UK flights were cancelled yesterday
Europe’s leading cargo airlines were bracing themselves for further disruption to supply chains today as the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud cleared the UK and moved towards northern Germany and Scandinavia.
German aviation authorities said Bremen and Hamburg airports would be closed early today, with Berlin likely to be affected in the afternoon.
The status of landing permission at Hanover, on the edge of the area forecast to be impacted, was unclear as IFW went to press.
This morning, the European organization for the safety of air navigation, Euro control, said: “The ash cloud is expected to move during the day and affect Berlin and also parts of Poland. Airports in Germany south of Bremen are not expected to be affected.
“There are no restrictions on flights in any other part of Europe. According to Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre forecasts, it is expected that ash cloud coverage will dissipate during the day.”
Robert van de Weg, Senior VP for sales at freight operator Cargo lux, said the carrier had a team standing by to tackle the situation as it developed.
“The problem is one can’t really plan, as it is not known if or what airports will be affected,” he added.
Flights from airports in Scandinavia were also expected to suffer some disruption.
A spokesman for Lufthansa Cargo said: “Experts from all involved departments of the company are closely monitoring the situation.”
He added: “We will inform via the known channels frequently to let our customers know if there are any changes.”
The Grímsvötn volcano began erupting on Saturday when a plume of ash reached 20km into the sky.
As a result, Icelandic air traffic control operator Isavia established a 120-nautical mile no-fly zone around the volcano, closed the country’s main airport, Keflavik, and cancelled domestic flights.
Yesterday, the ash cloud reached the north of the UK, resulting in approximately 500 flights being cancelled from the approximately 29,000 that would have been expected across Europe.
Damian Brett & Mike King | Wed, 25 May 2011, IFW News