The UK is closed for business

[Titch]

BREAKING NEWS:

ALL UK AIRSPACE TO RE-OPEN FROM 10PM HOWEVER AIRLINES MUST COMPLY TO STRICT REGULATIONS OF CHECKING THE PLANES AFTER EVERY FLIGHT

edit: DAM YOU MATT GETTING THERE WITH UR EDIT

[xxMATTGxx]

The Statement from the CAA:

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the UK’s independent specialist regulator with oversight of aviation safety, today issues new guidance on the use of airspace. This is issued in conjunction with the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) and covers the Anglo Irish Functional Airspace Block (FAB).

The new guidance allows a phased reintroduction from 2200 tonight of much of the airspace which is currently closed due to the volcanic ash plume over the UK. There will continue to be some ‘no fly zones’ where concentrations of ash are at levels unsafe for flights to take place, but very much smaller than the present restrictions. Furthermore, the Met Office advise that the ‘no fly zones’ do not currently cover the UK.

“Making sure that air travellers can fly safely is the CAA’s overriding priority.

“The CAA has drawn together many of the world’s top aviation engineers and experts to find a way to tackle this immense challenge, unknown in the UK and Europe in living memory. Current international procedures recommend avoiding volcano ash at all times. In this case owing to the magnitude of the ash cloud, its position over Europe and the static weather conditions most of the EU airspace had to close and aircraft could not be physically routed around the problem area as there was no space to do so. We had to ensure, in a situation without precedent, that decisions made were based on a thorough gathering of data and analysis by experts. This evidence based approach helped to validate a new standard that is now being adopted across Europe.

“The major barrier to resuming flight has been understanding tolerance levels of aircraft to ash. Manufacturers have now agreed increased tolerance levels in low ash density areas.”

Our way forward is based on international data and evidence from previous volcanic ash incidents, new data collected from test flights and additional analysis from manufacturers over the past few days. It is a conservative model allowing a significant buffer on top of the level the experts feel may pose a risk.

In addition, the CAA’s Revised Airspace Guidance requires airlines to:
· conduct their own risk assessment and develop operational procedures to address any remaining risks;
· put in place an intensive maintenance ash damage inspection before and after each flight; and
· report any ash related incidents to a reporting scheme run by the CAA.

The CAA will also continue to monitor the situation with tests both in the air and on the ground.

http://www.caa.co.uk/application.asp...etail&nid=1862

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Statement on Icelandic volcanic eruption: Tuesday April 20, 2040

Response to CAA statement

NATS has received new direction from the UK’s safety regulator, the CAA, on applying restrictions to UK airspace following the volcanic eruption in Iceland.

As soon as revised accurate information is available from the MET Office on the location of the dense ash cloud, NATS will review airspace availability and provide an update to airline operators on any airspace that has been restricted for safety reasons. We will issue a further statement by 2200.

[Nixt]

So is that just airspace over the UK open, or will flights from Europe be able to come in / go out now?

[xxMATTGxx]

So is that just airspace over the UK open, or will flights from Europe be able to come in / go out now?

It seems parts of Europe are open, I'm not sure how much is or how much is still closed. But it will be possbile for certain flights from Europe etc etc.

This is from the BBC and I'm not sure how old this information may be:

BELGIUM - Airspace open
BRITAIN - All airports to reopen from 2100 GMT
DENMARK - Airspace above 16,600ft open. No landings
FRANCE - Limited flights. Most airports open, Air France resuming long-haul service Wednesday
GERMANY - Airspace staying shut to 0001 GMT Wednesday, apart from 800 low-altitude flights
IRELAND - Airspace closed
ITALY - Airspace open. Handful of flights resumed in and out of Milan
NETHERLANDS - Airspace open
NORWAY - Airspace reopened
POLAND - Airspace closed
SPAIN - All airports open
SWEDEN - Airspace open over central-northern Sweden
SWITZERLAND - Airspace reopened

[Titch]

It seems parts of Europe are open, I'm not sure how much is or how much is still closed. But it will be possbile for certain flights from Europe etc etc.

This is from the BBC and I'm not sure how old this information may be:

irish airspace is now open from 10:00
french airspace re-opening fully from 10:00 aswell

[Titch]

First flight to leave heathrow in 7 mins time, first flight to arrive at 9:55 followed by one at 10:37 and 11:35

[Mathew]

Sat in Orlando Airport waiting to board in 15 mins or so.. all looks good so far, ready to land in Heathrow tomorrow!

[Yoshimitsui]

All UK airports open for business and airspace open for inbound/outbound at operators individual risk.

[Titch]

All UK airports open for business and airspace open for inbound/outbound at operators individual risk.

old news - reps, joke, old news tho mateey

Nice to see you coming home mathew!!! Dad just text me saying hes on a flight leaving in a few hours from Egypt coming home!

[xxMATTGxx]

It's good news at last and aircraft shall start moving all over the world heading to and from the UK. Then when all of the backlog has finally cleared, then normal operations can continue.