Ash from Iceland’s volcanic eruption disrupting air traffic

The blasts of ash spewing from an active volcano in Iceland spread to Northern Finland through Norway last night, prompting Finavia to close airspace in Northern and then Central Finland until Friday afternoon. By mid-afternoon on Thursday, the air traffic restrictions had caused the closure of Finnish airports as far south as Jyväskylä and Savonlinna.
     
The volcanic ash is bound to weaken visibility but the ash poses a more significant threat to aircraft jet engines, which is why measures have had to be taken to restrict all but emergency air traffic in various parts of Northern Europe. There have been historical incidences - in Indonesia and Alaska, for instance - of aircraft whose engines have simply shut down as the plane passed through a simiilar cloud of volcanic ash. A great many flights have already been cancelled in Sweden, Norway, and Great Britain. Moreover, some flights between Europe and the United States have also been suspended.
     
Until now, hundreds of flights have had to be cancelled in Britain, and this afternoon all London airports will be closed until further notice, while British Airways is to cancel all its domestic flights. Airports operator BAA confirmed that all flights at Heathrow, Stansted, and Gatwick would be suspended from 12:00 local time. The cloud of volcanic ash has also forced the closure of Scottish civilian airspace, and the Belfast International Airport in Northern Ireland has also been shut down until further notice. Denmark has announced it will be closing its airspace from 19:00 Finnish time today, and similar moves are planned in Belgium, the Netherlands, and in Northern Germany, as the security measures effectively paralyse all air traffic movements in Northern Europe.
     
In Norway, the regional flight ban initially introduced by authorities has today been extended to apply to all parts of the country, which means that the flights of more than 120,000 passengers have been cancelled. In Sweden, the restrictions currently apply to all air traffic in the northern districts of the country. Similar flight restrictions could be extended to Western Russia, when the ash is carried further by air currents.
     
Airspace over Northern Finland has been closed as a result of the spreading cloud of ash. According to Finavia, the service company that maintains a network of 25 airports in Finland and the air navigation system covering the entire country, the restrictions will be in force until 15:00 on Friday. Affected airports include Oulu, Kemi-Tornio, Rovaniemi, Kajaani, Kuusamo, Enontekiö, Ivalo, and Kittilä. At least Kuusamo and the last two names on the list are popular with tourists, as the Lapland spring skiing season continues in full swing.

Early on Thursday afternoon, a further eight airports - Jyväskylä, Kuopio, Joensuu, Vaasa, Kokkola-Pietarsaari, Varkaus, Kauhava, and Savonlinna - were added, as the restrictions moved gradually southwards.
     
According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the effects of volcanic ash could tomorrow spread even to Southern Finland. Chief meteorologist Matti Astevirta estimates that the appearance of ash in the atmosphere would lead to restrictions in air traffic even in the southern parts of the country, including Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport.
     
Flights into and out of Helsinki-Vantaa have naturally already been affected, with cancellations of scheduled departures and arrivals to and from the north and to and from airports in the UK and elsewhere that have already closed down. Aside from air traffic restrictions, the ash has no obvious side-effects and is not hazardous to people, Astevirta notes. ”When walking in the street, one can hardly notice it, but the sky could look slightly yellowish. However, it does not affect breathing. Ordinary street dust is more harmful”, Astevirta continues, adding that the ash dust will vanish from the Finnish air after the weekend.
     
”Based on the information received from Canada and the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL), we thought we had better restrict air traffic”, reports traffic manager Pasi Nikama from Finavia, a service company that maintains Finland’s network of airports. According to Nikama, it is very rare to restrict flight traffic in Finland as a consequence of a volcanic eruption. ”I do not remember that such extensive restrictions have ever been imposed in Finland”, Nikama added, before the ban was expanded still further south to include central districts of the country.
     
The cloud of volcanic ash is moving at an altitude of around 8 to 10 kilometres. The volcanic eruption on Wednesday, the second in a month, from just below the Eyjafjallokull glacier, hurled a large plume of ash into the atmosphere, and this spread south east overnight.

Helsingin Sanomat 15.4.2010

Eurocontrol Press release 15.4.2010

By Minna Niskanen, 15.4.2010 15:27