A volcanic ash cloud from Iceland is expected to reach parts of the UK by the early hours of Tuesday morning, the Met Office has said. It does not mean there will definitely be airspace closures but does makes flight disruption more likely, it said. The Grimsvotn volcano in Iceland is experiencing its largest eruption in 100 years. The event comes a year after ash from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano spread across Europe, causing huge disruption. Flights cancelled The Met Office, which runs Europe's Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre, earlier said there was more uncertainty over this eruption because weather was much more changeable. The prediction then was for the possibility of ash reaching the UK towards the end of the week. Icelandic air traffic control has created a no-fly zone around the volcano, closed Keflavik airport, the country's main hub, and cancelled all domestic flights. The Grimsvotn volcano, which lies beneath the ice of the uninhabited Vatnajokull glacier in south-east Iceland, began erupting on Saturday. University of Iceland geophysicist Pall Einarsson said the eruption was on a different scale to the one in Iceland last year. "It is not likely to be anything on the scale that was produced last year when the Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted," he said. "That was an unusual volcano, an unusual ash size distribution and unusual weather pattern, which all conspired together to make life difficult in Europe." The ash particles from this eruption are said to be larger than last year, and as a result fall to the ground more quickly. Source:- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13498477
Iceland volcano: Grimsvotn eruption hits flights Iceland has closed its main international airport and cancelled domestic flights after its most active volcano, Grimsvotn, began erupting. A plume of smoke has risen 20km (12 miles) into the sky from the volcano. But Iceland's Meteorological Office says the eruption should not cause widespread disruption to air traffic. Last year, ash clouds from another Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajokul, led to the closure of a large section of European airspace. Governments feared that ash particles could cause aircraft engines to fail, and the closure caused chaos to air travellers. Different ash Hjordis Gudmundsdottir, a spokeswoman for the Isavia civil aviation authority said: "We have closed the area until we know better what effect the ash will have." The authority said Keflavik airport, the country's main hub, would remain shut for the rest of Sunday. But officials say the eruption is unlikely to have the same impact as Eyjafjallajokul in 2010. University of Iceland geophysicist Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson said this was Grimsvotn's largest eruption for 100 years, "much bigger and more intensive than Eyjafjallajokull". He added: "There is a very large area in south-east Iceland where there is almost total darkness and heavy fall of ash. But it is not spreading nearly as much. The winds are not as strong as they were in Eyjafjallajokull." He said this ash was coarser than last year's eruption, falling to the ground more quickly instead of floating long distances. Europe's air traffic control organisation said on Sunday: "There is currently no impact on European or trans-Atlantic flights and the situation is expected to remain so for the next 24 hours. "Aircraft operators are constantly being kept informed of the evolving situation." However, weather officials warned that ash could reach northern Scotland by Tuesday and parts of Britain, France and Spain by Thursday or Friday if the eruption continues at the same rate, according to Reuters. In Scotland, a meeting of the government's resilience committee chaired by Transport Secretary Keith Brown is currently being held to discuss the possible impact. Threat to engines Grimsvotn lies under the the largest glacier in Europe, Vatnajokull in south-east Iceland. When it last erupted in 2004, transatlantic flights had to be re-routed south of Iceland, but no airports were closed. Last year's outpouring of ash from Eyjafjallajokull led to the largest closure of European airspace since World War II. About 10 million travellers were affected and some questioned whether the shutdown was an over-reaction. However, a scientific study published last month said the safety concerns had been well founded. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen and the University of Iceland said ash particles from the early part of the Eyjafjallajokull eruption were especially abrasive, posing a possible threat to aircraft engines. Source:- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13489944
here we go again.... O'Leary not wanting to pay compensation to passengers... But worst will be that Obama is going to be stuck this side of the pond, and we don't really want him here...
Flights cancelled as ash cloud heads towards UK Flights in Scotland have been cancelled by a regional airline as volcanic ash continues to head towards the UK. Loganair, based at Glasgow airport, has cancelled 36 flights on Tuesday as the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) warns that disruption cannot be ruled out. Analysts expect the ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano to reach Scotland and Northern Ireland by Monday evening. The event comes a year after ash from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano spread across Europe, causing huge disruption. Read more here:- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13498477
