BA chief on board test flight through Irish airspace

A BRITISH Airways Boeing 747, carrying airline boss Willie Walsh, flew through Irish airspace last night and landed safely back in Britain after the three-hour test flight.

The jumbo jet took off from London Heathrow Airport at 6pm and headed west and over Ireland and the Atlantic Ocean on its flight to gauge flight safety.

Earlier yesterday Dutch carrier KLM flew one of its planes through the cloud of volcanic ash in Dutch airspace without suffering any damage.

Meanwhile, Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin instructed his department to open its Consular Crisis Centre in Dublin after a deluge of calls from Irish people stuck at various locations and in “genuine need”.

Mr Martin said the centre will remain open throughout the week and its operation will be reviewed.

“While I understand that the bulk of Irish citizens are coping with the situation, there are cases of individual hardship,” he said.

The Irish Aviation Authority has extended the closure of Irish airspace to commercial traffic until 1pm today, including transatlantic flights.

That deadline is likely to be extended, and yesterday Ryanair said it had decided to cancel all flights in and out of Ireland until 1pm on Wednesday. Aer Lingus also confirmed that all British, European and American flights scheduled to depart today have been cancelled.

Many ferries are booked up and last night some ferry crossings were cancelled due to technical issues.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the situation regarding the ban on air travel was “unprecedented”.

Elsewhere, the National Task Force on Emergency Planning will meet again tomorrow to discuss the affects of the volcanic ash.

The Consular Crisis Centre can be contacted at 353 1 4082999.