"no visible volcanic ash cloud or evidence of ash on the airframe, wings or engines".However, no indication if they went through the lower cloud cover was made or stated. The Civil Aviation Authority state at
"no time did a Ryanair flight enter the notified area of high contamination ash over Scotland this morning"EasyJet has cancelled:
Following forecasts of significant volcanic ash in Scottish airspace, British Airways has decided as a precaution that it will not operate any flights between London and Scotland on Tuesday May 24 that arrive in Scotland before 2pm or depart from Scotland before 2pm.
At present all other flights are unaffected.
Loganair are cancelling almost all of their 40 flights in Scotland tomorrow due to ash cloud disruption
"Disruption to UK flights due to ash from the erupting Grimsvotn volcano in Iceland is expected on Tuesday, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has said".
NATS is delighted that restrictions on UK airspace can today be eased, thanks to new measures from the Civil Aviation Authority.
Aircraft can now safely fly through ‘medium density’ ash following the introduction of a new zone that defines the concentration of the ash cloud.
“NATS has been at the heart of this ground-breaking proposal and our people have worked very closely with the Irish Aviation Authority, CAA and the rest of the industry to make it happen,” said NATS Chief Executive Officer, Richard Deakin.
“Every leading player in aviation has been helping to build vast amounts of data about the effects of volcanic ash over the last month. There is mounting evidence that aircraft can fly safely through areas of medium density, provided some additional precautions are taken. This is now what has been agreed.”
Richard added that teams at NATS had been working all hours to create new and enhanced procedures to make sure the changes can take place as safely and as effectively as possible.
Previously, the CAA has dealt with the ash cloud by applying No-Fly Zones (NFZ) in areas of greatest ash density, and Enhanced Procedures Zones (EPZ) in areas of low density, which were introduced during the six-day crisis last month.
Today’s breakthrough means a third Time Limited Zone (TLZ) is now being introduced for areas of medium ash density.
As a result of this change, there are no predicted restrictions on UK airspace in the immediate future. If that picture changes, NATS will update its website as necessary.
Update on Monday 17 May, 1300www.nats.co.uk
The CAA has lifted the no-fly zone that has been affecting flights at Heathrow and Gatwick until 1900 (local time) today. The decision comes following further information from the Met Office about the density and location of the ash cloud. There are no restrictions at airports in Northern Ireland, England or Wales during this period.
From 1300-1900 the no-fly zone remains in place only in the Orkney and Shetland Islands.
The volcanic ash cloud continues to change shape and two key areas affect operations stretching from the South of England to Northern Ireland, and over much of mainland Scotland to the Shetland Isles. As a result, no-fly zones have been imposed by the CAA in these areas, for the period 0700 local until 1300 local today (Monday).www.nats.co.uk
Airports within the no-fly zones include all those in Northern Ireland, Ronaldsway, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness and Northern Scotland. Cardiff, Swansea, Bristol and Farnborough are also in the no-fly zone.
Heathrow and Gatwick airports will be clear of the no-fly zone however restrictions will have to be applied due to their close proximity to the no-fly zone particularly affecting Gatwick inbounds.
Information on airports in southern Ireland can be obtained from the Irish Aviation Authority website (www.iaa.ie).
We are working closely with the Met Office and with the CAA, which agrees no-fly zones based on Met Office data, and will issue any further notice on this website as necessary.
Update on Sunday 16 May, 2245
The high density ash cloud continues to move further south in the early hours of tomorrow morning.
For the period 0100 (local time) until 0700 tomorrow (Monday), airports inside the no-fly zone as imposed by the CAA, include; London Heathrow, Gatwick, Farnborough, London City, Shoreham, Biggin Hill, all airfields in Northern Ireland, Scottish Western Isles, Oban, Campbeltown, Caernarfon and Aberdeen. Cardiff remains open but operations may be limited due to close proximity of the no-fly zone.
Information on airports in southern Ireland can be obtained from the Irish Aviation Authority website (www.iaa.ie).
We are working closely with the Met Office and with the CAA, which agrees no-fly zones based on Met Office data, and will issue any further notice on this website as necessary.www.nats.co.uk
www.nats.co.uk
Update on Sunday 16 May, 1630
For the period 1900 today (local time) until 0100 tomorrow (Monday) London’s main airports will still be clear of the no-fly zone imposed by the CAA due to the high density volcanic ash cloud.
The ash cloud continues to change shape and move further south to just north of Oxford during this period. This brings Birmingham and Norwich inside the no-fly zone in addition to those airports already affected. The northerly extent of the no-fly zone in England now includes Teesside, stopping just short of Newcastle, and tracking northwest in a line just north of Carlisle, which remains in the no-fly zone.
Airports inside the no-fly zone in England and Wales now include Teesside, Humberside, Leeds Bradford, Blackpool, Ronaldsway, Caernarfon, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Doncaster, Norwich, Birmingham and East Midlands.
In Scotland the no-fly zone includes the Western Isles, Campbeltown, Prestwick and Oban. All airports in Northern Ireland remain inside the no-fly zone during this period.
There are currently no other restrictions within UK airspace. Information on airports in southern Ireland can be obtained from the Irish Aviation Authority website (www.iaa.ie).
We are working closely with the Met Office and with the CAA, which agrees no-fly zones based on Met Office data, and will issue any further notice on this website as necessary.
Update on Sunday 16 May, 1030www.nats.co.uk
The CAA’s no-fly zone required by the high density volcanic ash cloud will not affect London airports for the period 1300-1900 (local time) today.
The no-fly zone for this period has moved east to a line stretching from Prestwick on the west coast to Humberside on the east coast and south to a line just north of Birmingham. Airports which fall within the no-fly zone include all those in Northern Ireland, Ronaldsway, Prestwick, Carlisle, Manchester, Liverpool, Doncaster, Humberside, Leeds Bradford and East Midlands and some Scottish island airports including Campbeltown, Islay and Barra.
There are currently no other restrictions within UK airspace. Information about Irish airspace can be found at on the IAA website.
We are working closely with the Met Office and with the CAA, which agrees no-fly zones based on Met Office data, and will issue any further notice on this website as necessary
A high density volcanic ash cloud is rapidly encroaching on Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man. As a result, a no-fly zone has been imposed by the CAA in airspace over parts of Northern Ireland.
Restrictions apply to Belfast International, Belfast Harbour & Ronalsdway (Isle of Man) airports from 0700 (local) until 1300 on Sunday 16 May.
The Irish Authorities have also advised of restrictions on airfields in NW Ireland from 0700 (local). Dublin and Shannon airports will remain open until 1300.
There are currently no other restrictions within UK airspace. We are working closely with the Met Office and with the CAA, which agrees no-fly zones based on Met Office data, and will issue any further notice on this website as necessary.
"There can be no industrial peace without meaningful negotiations and while management victimises trade unionists and uses disciplinary procedures in a witch-hunt,"BA defended its approach to the latest negotiations.
"We have made a very fair offer, which meets the concerns the union raised during 14 months of negotiations and also ensures that our crew remain the best rewarded in the UK. That offer remains available,"BA is already planning contingency measures to ensure as many passengers as possible fly during the strike periods.
www.caa.co.uk
Following the latest update to forecasts from the UK Met Office, the CAA has issued guidance to operators announcing that airspace over Scotland and Northern Ireland will be closed from 07:00 local time tomorrow (Wednesday) morning.
Met Office forecasts show that levels of ash in the atmosphere over Scotland and Northern Ireland will exceed the concentrations that engine manufacturers have agreed are safe for operations. Unfortunately, this means that the CAA anticipates all Scottish and Northern Ireland airports will be closed from 07:00 local time tomorrow.
The UK Met Office has informed the CAA that ash over UK airspace has increased in density as ash emissions from the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull have become stronger, meaning the Met Office forecasts of ‘No Fly Zone’ locations have been extended further South.
The forecasts also show that it is likely that the ash cloud will continue to move south, potentially affecting airports in the northwest of England and North Wales tomorrow. When the Met Office has produced an updated forecast later this evening, the CAA will update this guidance – this is likely to be after midnight.
The situation is very dynamic, so passengers expecting to travel from the impacted airports should contact their airlines to check whether their flight is operating.
"Ireland falls within the predicted area of ash concentrations"
"We are quite optimistic that it will dissipate and we are quite optimistic for Dublin and for Shannon tomorrow afternoon but we will make a reassessment for that in the morning."
