Air travel ‘back to normal in three days’

STRANDED passengers were thrown a lifeline last night as aviation chiefs gave the go-ahead for Irish and British airspace to reopen.

After six days of crippling cancellations caused by eruptions from an Icelandic volcano the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) said a full service could resume on a phased basis.

Flights are set to focus on positioning planes and crews, with airlines expected to take up to three days to get back to normal.

But officials warned restrictions were only being lifted if there was no more significant volcanic activity, and provided the massive ash cloud did not move over the country.

The IAA, which made the decision to reopen airspace in conjunction with Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority, said Ireland was still one of the closest European countries to the current exclusion zone.

“We welcome this agreement, which balances safety priorities with the need of the industry,” chief executive Eamonn Brennan said.

“This provides the foundation for a long-term solution to the volcanic ash issue, however we need to be careful over the next few days as we are concerned that the ash cloud currently positioned between Iceland and Ireland may drift over the country.”

Aircraft engine manufacturers have been consulted and technical guidance has been issued to airlines and maintenance teams.

Each carrier will have to comply with new guidelines, including additional reporting, maintenance inspections and regular ash ingestion assessments.

Passengers were urged to contact airlines before travelling to airports for flights.

The lifting of restrictions will come as a huge relief to the country’s two leading airlines, which estimate to have lost more than €70 million in the crisis.

Aer Lingus said it was losing about €5m and Ryanair €6m a day as 30,000 Irish people were marooned overseas praying for rain and southerly winds to disperse the huge ash cloud.

Both carriers insisted they could survive six days of heavy financial losses with Aer Lingus stating it had sufficient cash reserves, while Ryanair said re-routing passengers was its priority.

Meanwhile, officials have assured there are no health dangers to the public from ash falling to the ground.

Environmental experts have recorded falls of ash along the west coast but insisted it would be minimal and that it posed minimal health risks.

Earlier yesterday, the Government’s emergency task force said it was still “punctuated eruptions” coming from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which kept Irish airports closed up until last night.

But even if eruptions continued, reasonably strong south-westerly wind forecast for Friday should push the volcanic ash cloud towards Greenland. The best news came from Met Éireann’s Ger Fleming, who said there would be a change in the high pressure in the atmosphere by Friday.