Spain Could be Used as Flight Hub for Europe

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/DOpsJ)


Ministers are considering a number of ways to help Britons stranded by flight restrictions imposed after volcanic ash from Iceland drifted over the UK.

Ideas to emerge from a Downing Street meeting include using Spain as a flight hub, a role for the Royal Navy and requisitioning commercial vessels.

The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have called for ministers to give out more information.
UK flight restrictions will be in place until at least 0700 BST on Monday.

Forecasters have warned the dust cloud may remain over the UK for several days.

Bodies representing European airports and airlines have called for flight restrictions to be reviewed.
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson, who emerged from the meeting flanked by several cabinet colleagues, said: "We will mobilise all possible means to get people home."

He said Prime Minister Gordon Brown would meet with his Spanish counterpart to explore whether Britons could be returned by landing in Spain - which is open to flights - from certain parts of the world.

Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said Met Office advice was that it would not be safe for flights across most of northern Europe on Monday.

He said data from a number of test flights would go to regulators, and there would be a meeting of European transport ministers on Monday.

Additional capacity had been introduced on other transport such as Eurostar and Eurtounnel trains and ferries, he added.

Security minister Lord West, a former head of the Royal Navy, said using the navy to bring people home was an option.

The government's Cobra emergency committee is to meet at 0830 BST on Monday.

The Conservatives have released an eight-point plan they would like to see to tackle the situation.
It includes chartering ships to bring people home who are stranded in Europe and urging ferry and rail operators to retain their normal pricing structures.

Shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers said: "With thousands of Britons stuck in airports overseas, it is hugely worrying that there is no end in sight for the flight ban."

Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Norman Baker said it needed to be "urgently assessed" how much longer British passengers faced being stranded for.

A British Airways Boeing 747 has taken off on a test flight at 30,000ft from Heathrow to Cardiff with five people on board, including chief executive Willie Walsh.

Dutch airline KLM and German airline Lufthansa have carried out test flights in their countries' airspace to see if it is safe for planes to fly.

KLM said it had flown a plane through the cloud of volcanic ash without suffering any damage.

Air France said it had successfully carried out a test flight from Paris to Toulouse.

A BA spokesman said: "In line with action taken by other European airlines and, subject to approval by the relevant authorities, we are planning to operate a test flight later today."

ACI, representing European airports, and AEA, representing European airlines, said they were "questioning the proportionality of the flight restrictions currently imposed".

AEA secretary general Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus said: "Verification flights undertaken by several of our airlines have revealed no irregularities at all."

EXPERT ADVICE
Latest health advice
Air passenger rights
Q&A: Volcanic ash cloud
Travel latest
Earlier, Brian Flynn, head of operations at Eurocontrol, the organisation in charge of air safety in Europe, denied aviation authorities were being over cautious.
Ryanair has cancelled all scheduled flights between the UK, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Holland, France, Germany, Poland and the Baltic states until 1300 BST on Wednesday.
Easyjet has cancelled all its flights scheduled before 1300 BST on Monday in areas where airspace is closed, but a limited number are expected to operate in southern Europe.
BMI said it was cancelling all its Heathrow flights until midnight on Monday.

COUNTRIES AFFECTED
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