Danish... and European airspace shuts down

[Randi]

Glad I'm not going anywhere! My sister and BIL, though, are expected to return from Thailand on sunday - wonder if they'll be delayed. :eek: The Queens Birthday seems to go as sceduled, so far. Some guests may not arrive on time, though.


"Denmark will become a no fly zone as of 6pm local time and royalty will have no exceptions

Queen Margrete II will still celebrate her 70th birthday tomorrow in fine sunny weather, but the volcanic ash cloud will put a dampener on proceedings with many of her foreign guests left stranded.

The volcanic eruption in Iceland has spewed a heavy cloud of debris into the atmosphere which has been blown across Europe by northwesterly winds.

At least 25,000 people across Europe are affected by flight cancellations and Denmark is no exception.

Danish airspace has gradually been shut down and will be fully closed by 6pm this evening as the ash cloud prevents aircraft from flying.
Air traffic authority Naviair said it was unclear when Danish airspace would reopen.

Copenhagen Airport will shut from 5pm and many high-profile guests who were expected to fly in for the galla performance at the Royal Theatre this evening are likely to be absent.

Around 1200 people have been invited to the event to mark the Queen’s birthday, including the Swedish and Norwegian royal families. They are reportedly making other arrangements to travel to Denmark by train.
Danish royal court spokeswoman Lene Balleby told BT newspaper that ´many of the guests are trying to make alternative arrangements, but they had no exact figures on how many would be unable to make it."

This is a link from Reuters:

http://www.reuters.com/article/video/idUSTRE63E2OU20100415?videoId=72554816

[Barbara]

Not only the Danish airspace closed down but most of Northern Europe- UK, Netherlands etc.
I am going to London on Monday- I suppose the vocano will not take care of my appointments;)

[Randi]

I was just thinking whether you were going to or from London. What a mess it's going to be! :eek: I don't think a Danish airport has ever has ALL flights cancelled.

[Barbara]

Just checked- all flights to and from London were cancelled today. And then they shut down Brussels and Amsterdam because too many flights were re-routed via these airports.
Nature influences us more than we can think.

[Randi]

Barbara, I hope all is back to nomal on monday, but I doubt it. :(

In this link, there’s a picture of Eyjafjallajökull Volcano, Iceland

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=43252

[smokey the elder]

Well, that's a mouthful!:p

[Killearn Kitties]

Well, that's a mouthful!:p

:D :D

The whole of UK airspace was closed down early this morning and will remain that way at least until 7am tomorrow.

There was an ex-BA pilot on the radio this morning who once had all four of his engines stopped by volcanic ash at around 38,000 feet. They glided and were down to 12,000 feet before they got three engines going again. :eek: Oh I'll bet that was a fun flight to be on.

[carole]

It is the same down under all Air New Zealand flights to Europe and the UK have been cancelled.

[Barbara]

Today they closed all German airports except Munich which is not much help as there are not many places to go to ;)
London is closed at least until tomorrow afternoon so I re-booked my Monday flight and am now going by train. Will have a night in Brussels in between :rolleyes:
We just forget how big the world is when we can fly all the time.

[Miss Z]

My dad is due to fly out to Miami on Sunday on a business trip that he really can't afford to miss, so we're hoping for the all clear by then!

This is going to be costing the airlines one huge amount of money, methinks.

Hope the journey to London by train goes well for you, Barbara, and that you have a nice stay! You must come again this time next year when I'll be down there for university. :)

[Randi]

It was "funny" to see Copenhagen Airports' " Arrival/ Departure site today. There weren't any! ALL flights are cancelled. Imagine the queue that want re-booking! :eek: I hope my sister and BIL won't have any problems getting back from Thailand on sunday, they're 70 and don't need any more problems. My BIL fell 6 meters and broke his nose last week.

Barbara, I hope you'll have a pleasant train ride! Perhaps give Lut a ring while you're in Brussels. ;)

[Barbara]

My dad is due to fly out to Miami on Sunday on a business trip that he really can't afford to miss, so we're hoping for the all clear by then!

This is going to be costing the airlines one huge amount of money, methinks.

Hope the journey to London by train goes well for you, Barbara, and that you have a nice stay! You must come again this time next year when I'll be down there for university. :)

I'm always there for London Bookfair :)

[Lady's Human]

It's payback time for Iceland.

Give them a hard time about their banking system, will you?

[Killearn Kitties]

It's payback time for Iceland.

Give them a hard time about their banking system, will you?

:D

Probably a sensible move to cancel your flight now, Barbara. The situation in England is still very unclear. Glasgow has flights going to the Scottish Islands and Ireland. We have also had limited transatlantic flights since 8am. They are still diverting transatlantic flights here from London though, and the time when flights might start again from London keeps being put back.

[Barbara]

I was wondering whether you could see the cloud Karen. The only thing I'm sure is that volcanoes do not worry about meetings.

[Killearn Kitties]

We have had a totally blue sky above us, Barbara, which seems a bit odd, because my car is suddenly covered in thick dust!

[Lady's Human]

http://jalopnik.com/5518997/top-gear-summits-icelandic-volcano-hours-before-eruption?skyline=true&s=i

Last week we shared news the BBC's Top Gear was filming on an active volcano. Turns out it's Eyjafjallajökull, the same volcano causing European airplane havoc. Luckily, cast and crew escaped just hours before the volcano erupted. Amazing gallery below.

[Barbara]

The cloud is now over most of Europe but you can really see that West Scotland has a chance of missing it as it takes an Eastern curve when it leaves Iceland. No flights until tomorrow- I can see myself drag my suitcase from home-station-Frankfurt- Brussels- hotel-station-London etc. Oh my! Our chancellor coming from San Francisco had to land in Lisbon and seems to be still there, some wounded soldiers from Afghanistan had to land in Istanbul.

[Killearn Kitties]

I heard some story on the news this morning about John Cleese taking a taxi from Oslo to Brussels! Maybe he will buy you dinner on your overnight stay, Barbara. :D

We should have known it was Clarkson's fault!

[Randi]

I've not heard from my sister yet, but they'll most likely be delayed too. Hopefully they get a few a extra nice days in Thailand.

It's fairly bright here, but not as sunny as the last couple of days.

At the moment it's expected that Danish airspace will stay closed until 02:00 AM sunday, at the least.

A link from Reuters with video:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63E1TM20100417

[Marigold2]

Best of luck to your sister. I just watched a news report on this. I always find it amazing that no matter how tech savvy we become mother nature has but to blow her top and we are at her mercy.
Wishing all travlers safety and a speedy flight home.

[Randi]

My sister and BIL got a good hotel near the airport in Thailand, so that's good. :) The latest news is that Danish airspace will stay closed until 02:00 AM monday. From the news we get, I expect it will be longer. The volcano is still spewing ashes.

My cousin's son and his girlfriend are on their way back from a 3,5 months trip around the world, they are stuck in Madrid.

I wonder what all of you would do if you were stranded somewhere? Seems it's time to start hitchhiking again, like we did in the seventies. I know I would, if I was within Europe and I really wanted/had to get back home. I did once, to and from Basel in Switzerland - it took me 24 hours, and I even slept 8 hours.

Here's a picture of the area the cloud reach:

[Medusa]

I wonder what all of you would do if you were stranded somewhere?

Friends and I were discussing this very subject last evening. If we were in Europe and especially on a budget and had to stay several days longer, it'd be pretty scary, not knowing anyone and worrying if we'd have enough money for a hotel, meals, etc. to see us through.

[ChrisH]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/CwmmawrJet/Micellaneous%202/_47664894_map_18-04_466-2.jpg

Airspace closed:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, UK
Partial closures:
Italy (northern airspace closed until Monday)
Norway (limited flights in north)
Spain (northern airports closed)
Flights operating:
Greece, Portugal, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine

• The impact is likely to exceed the airspace shutdown after the 11 September 2001 attacks, according to the International Civil Aviation Organisation

• TV presenter Dan Snow is using five rigid inflatable boats to help people who are stranded in France by carrying people from Calais to Dover throughout Sunday

• P&O ferry crossings between Portsmouth and Bilbao are fully booked until Wednesday, as are those from Hull to Zeebrugge and Rotterdam over the weekend

• British Airways cancelled all long and short-haul flights in and out of the UK on Monday

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8627545.stm

It worries me a little because of my lung disease and living higher up but, unlike Karen, I've yet to see any settled dust, which is good.

[Randi]

If we were in Europe and especially on a budget and had to stay several days longer, it'd be pretty scary, not knowing anyone and worrying if we'd have enough money for a hotel, meals, etc. to see us through.
Mary, in situations like this, that is where people should come together and help each other out. I imagine many would offer accommodation if some have run out of money. What I don't like about this, is that hotels are taking advantage of the situation and charge more for rooms. For the people travelling to meeting, there are at least the internet these days.

Chris, I don't think you need to worry about your lungs, but in any case keep an eye out and stay inside if you see the dust cloud coming towards you. ;)

What a mess this is! :eek:

Here's a later image of how the cloud is evolving:

[Miss Z]

My dad won't make his business trip, which is disappointing. He was due to fly out yesterday morning, and has been told the earliest he could leave would be Saturday evening - 3 days after the meetings end.

Didn't this volcano take TWO YEARS before it stopped erupting in the 1800s? :p

[Sonia59]

Didn't this volcano take TWO YEARS before it stopped erupting in the 1800s? :p

This is what I heard too! :eek:

[Barbara]

It erupted between 1821 and 1823 and when it ceased 1823 it triggered a bigger volcano- the Katla- which erupted in 1823.
I enjoyed my train ride to London- you meet so many people with different stories. My US colleagues couldn't make it here. One US lady who came over for a vacation with her family on my recommendation (they were at the place Edwina's Secretary and I were 4 years ago) couldn't go back. One UK colleague is in Mexico with his family, another German colleague is stuck in Hong Kong and they say they cannot get him back before 1st of May.
2 South African ladies I met in the hotel are stranded since wednesday last week. The bad thing is you have to check your airline all the time, are on the phone no end or are trying to access overloaded servers. I have already booked a train ticket back home on Friday but still hope I can make it flying- stay tuned ;)

[ChrisH]

UK airports permitted to reopen (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8633597.stm)

Let the chaos begin.

[wombat2u2004]

Interesting pics.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/04/more_from_eyjafjallajokull.html