Heathrow still shut, Frankfurt and Schiphol allow flights

Finland Air Force plane engine damage.

LONDON – Heathrow Airport remains closed for air traffic while flights are landing and taking off from Frankfurt and Schiphol in Amsterdam as debate continues between airlines and government agencies on air safety threats posed by volcanic ash.

While airlines struggled to convince authorities to allow them to fly, claiming no danger, Finland’s Air Force produced graphic images of damage to engines from two F-18 Hornet military jets that flew into an ash cloud for a few minutes and warned that there could be substantial danger for aircraft engines.

NATS, the organization responsible for air traffic over the U.K. said it has opened up the air space over Aberdeen, Inverness and Edinburgh between the hours of 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

However, a flying prohibition continues for much of the U.K. for flights below 20,000 feet – leaving Heathrow, Stansted and Southampton airports out of bounds for planes.

But even as the U.K. stuggled with air safety issues and British Airways clamoured for reopening of flights, Frankfurt and Schiphol began receiving flights and some were taking off.

KLM uses Schiphol as its hub and the airline announced many flights are now landing and taking off. KLM said it will take time to get all traffic to normal and said it has begun a phased plan to get aircraft moving again.

Several flights, including one from the U.S., landed at Frankfurt with no reports of problems. Many flights remained cancelled mostly because of coordination issues.

NATS, the U.K. air traffic body announced: “The situation regarding the volcanic eruption in Iceland remains dynamic and the latest information from the Met Office shows that the situation today will continue to be variable.”

“Based on the latest Met Office information, part of Scottish airspace including Aberdeen, Inverness and Edinburgh airports will continue to be available from 1300-1900 today, and also south to Newcastle Airport. Restrictions will remain in place over the rest of UK airspace below 20,000ft.”

“Overnight the CAA, in line with new guidance from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) decided flights above the ash cloud will be permitted in the UK; between 1300-1900 this will enable aircraft movements above 20,000ft in UK airspace,” it said in an announcement in London on Tuesday morning.

“We will continue to monitor Met Office information and the situation is likely to change during the course of the day,” said NATS.

“We have been advised by NATS that restrictions to airspace remain in place today (Tuesday) Heathrow, Stansted and Southampton. Airspace restrictions were lifted at 07:00 at our three Scottish Airports – Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen – but with a limited programme,” Heathrow said following the ruling from NATS.

Britain’s MET weather office indicated aircraft frame and engine manufacturers have cautioned about airplanes flying through volcanic ash – which can cause severe damage.

British Airways flew a test flight Boeing 747 for several hours and landed safely. It said there were no problems found following the landing of the test flight or during flight.

However, Finland said it found troublesome signs of damage in military jets that flew in an ash cloud for a few minutes.

“On Thursday April 15th and Friday April 16th the Finnish Air Force examined several Boeing F-18 Hornet fighters of its Lapland Air Command that flew training missions over Northern Finland on Thursday morning when the airspace was still open to traffic,” Finland’s Air Force said in a statement.

“A post-landing inspection revealed accumulations of powdery volcanic dust in the aircraft’s air intakes. The engines of one affected aircraft were viewed through a fiberscope. Imagery thus obtained indicated that even a short-duration flight inside an ash cloud may cause substantial damage to aircraft engines,” it said.

“Images show that ingested ash has melted under the extremely high temperatures – which may reach approximately 1,000 degrees centigrade – prevailing in the combustion chamber. Melted ash may block cooling air passages, which in turn may result in the overheating of engine components and degradation of engine materials. Degraded material may then lead to the cracking of rotating engine parts and in the worst-case scenario to the separation of parts and subsequent destruction of the engine,” it said.

Related posts:

1. No U.K. flights until Sunday afternoon
2. Downtown Vancouver liquor stores shut early
3. 2010 Games Luge track shut after death of Georgian athlete
4. U.S. seeks extradition of Canadian from Frankfurt
5. Largest counterfeit money factory shut down in Surrey

Posted by News Editor on Apr 20 2010. Filed under More News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry