Useful Links - Airlines/Airports/Ferries/Buses/Trains/etc
Are you affected by the travel disruption? Would you like to share your thoughts with us and with other readers of this live text commentary? If so, email us at newsonline@rte.ie. Please note: RTÉ.ie may edit your comments and not all comments will be published.
Ray Colgan sees a silver lining in the ash cloud
Statement from Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin
Main developments:
- Irish airspace closed until at least 1pm tomorrow
- UK airspace closed until 7pm tomorrow
- Disruption is expected to last several days
- Airlines run test flights to gauge dust levels
- Aer Lingus cancels all flights on Monday (with the exception of the Washington-Madrid service)
- Ryanair cancels all Irish/UK flights until 1pm Wednesday
23.09 The Dutch airline KLM said most European airspace was safe tonight, as its government urged a more flexible approach to the volcanic ash cloud that has prompted a flight ban across most of the continent.
22.00 The European aviation control agency Eurocontrol said about 5,000 flights took place in European airspace today compared with 24,000 normally.
21.45 A British Airways Boeing 747 flew into Cardiff Airport tonight after a successful test flight which lasted almost three hours.
The jumbo jet carrying BA chief Willie Walsh took off from London Heathrow Airport at 6pm to gauge flight safety.
It landed at Cardiff Airport, south Wales, at 8.43pm after a successful flight which had taken the aircraft out over the Atlantic Ocean.
20.58 Restrictions on flights across UK controlled airspace will remain in place until at least 7pm tomorrow, air traffic control company Nats said tonight.
Dutch airspace remains shut until at least 7am.
20.35 Britain is considering using its navy and requisitioning merchant ships to ferry home citizens stranded abroad.
20.30 Austria's airports are expected to reopen for flights from 5am Irish time tomorrow.
'From the current standpoint, services from all Austrian airports can resume from Monday 5am', Austro Control said in a statement.
20.00 UK government ministers have said it will not be safe for flights to take place across most of northern Europe tomorrow.
19.30 P&O Irish Sea would like to confirm that services between Larne, Troon and Cairnryan continue to operate to schedule with spaces currently available for both vehicles and passengers on all sailings this evening and tomorrow morning.
18.54 Spain's secretary of state for EU affairs said this evening it was possible that 50% of flights in Europe could operate tomorrow.
18.50 All German airports will be closed at 7pm Irish time, except for Berlin's Tegel and Schoenefeld airports, Germany's air traffic controllers said.
The two Berlin airports will close at 9pm.
18.18 The European Commission says it is working to find solutions to the air disruption without compromising safety.
17.44 KLM has said European airspace is safe with the exception of the area between Iceland and Russia.
Dutch airline KLM is planning three commercial freight flights after 7pm Irish time today, but did not expect passenger flights to resume before tomorrow, Dutch media cited KLM as saying.
17.22 Belgian airspace will remain closed until at least 0600 GMT on Monday due to the cloud of volcanic ash from an eruption in Iceland, a spokesman for Transport Minister Etienne Schouppe said.
Airlines will, however, be permitted to fly planes back to Belgium without passengers if meteorological conditions allowed, the spokesman said.
17.17 The main association of European airports and airlines has called for a reassessment of restrictions.
‘While Europe's airlines and airports consider safety to be an absolute priority, they are questioning the proportionality of the flight restrictions currently imposed,’ ACI Europe said in a statement.
17.15 A list of countries as of 5pm and their airspace status:
AUSTRIA - Airspace expected to remain closed until at least 2400 GMT Sunday.
BELGIUM - Airspace closed until at least 1800 GMT Sunday.
BRITAIN - Airspace closed until at least 0600 GMT Monday.
BULGARIA - Sofia and Plovdiv airports open as of 1100 GMT Sunday. Other airports closed.
CZECH REPUBLIC - Airspace closed until at least 1000 GMT Monday.
DENMARK - Airspace closed until at least 0600 GMT Sunday. Update due around 1900 GMT.
ESTONIA - Airspace closed until Monday.
FINLAND - Airspace closed until at least 1500 GMT Monday.
FRANCE - Bordeaux, Marseille, Nice, Toulouse and several other southwest airports will remain open until at least 1300 GMT Monday.
GERMANY - Several airports open for flights heading in an easterly or northerly direction until 1800 GMT on Sunday.
HUNGARY - Airspace to remain closed until at least 1000 GMT Monday.
IRELAND - Airspace closed until at least 1200 GMT on Monday.
ITALY - Northern airspace closed until at least 0600 GMT Monday.
LATVIA - Airspace expected to stay closed until Monday.
LITHUANIA - Airspace closed indefinitely according to Vilnius airport.
LUXEMBOURG - Luxembourg airport closed until at least 1600 GMT Sunday.
NORWAY - Airspace opened for some traffic north of Bergen.
NETHERLANDS - Airspace closed until at least 1800 GMT Sunday.
POLAND - Six Polish airports, including Warsaw, reopen for commercial flights.
ROMANIA - Airspace closed until at least 0900 GMT Monday.
RUSSIA - All airports open.
SLOVAKIA - Airspace closed as of 1300 GMT on Friday.
SPAIN - The 17 airports closed over Sunday morning by the Spanish airport authorities are now all open.
SWEDEN - Airspace closed all Sunday and into Monday.
SWITZERLAND - Airspace closed until at least 1200 GMT Monday.
UKRAINE - Kiev's Borispol airport open.
17.00 Budget airline Easyjet said all its flights scheduled before 1pm tomorrow in areas where airspace is closed have been cancelled.
A statement said a limited number of flights are expected to operate in southern Europe.
16.51 All flights to and from City of Derry Airport have been cancelled for Sunday and Monday 18 & 19 April.
16.45 British Airways is staging a test flight, to leave from Heathrow airport in west London, later today.
The airline 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.’
BA said that, subject to approval, its test flight would involve a Boeing 747 jumbo jet with a four-strong crew and BA chief executive Willie Walsh aboard.
16.10 Ryanair has decided to cancel all scheduled flights to/from the UK, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Holland, France, Germany, Poland and the Baltic States until 1pm Wednesday 21 April.
Ryanair flights from Spain, the Canary and Baleric islands, the south of Italy (including Pisa, Rome, Sardinia and Sicily), Malta and North Africa will continue to operate just domestic and southbound routes.
16.05 Germany has opened Frankfurt airport, the country's biggest air hub, and the smaller nearby Hahn airport until 7pm tonight for flights heading north, a spokeswoman for German air traffic controllers said on Sunday.
15.42 European Union transport ministers will consider tomorrow whether flights could resume even if volcanic ash from Iceland remains in the atmosphere, British transport minister Andrew Adonis has announced.
Several European airlines have conducted test flights and reported no problems.
15.35 Denmark will keep its airspace closed until 7am Irish time tomorrow, Danish air traffic controller Naviair said.
Naviair said it would issue an update on the forecast around 8pm.
Copenhagen airport and the entire Danish airspace have been closed since Thursday afternoon.
15.24 The European Consumer Centre has confirmed that airline passengers have significant rights and entitlements under EU rules when a flight is cancelled, regardless of the reason.
Even if a flight is cancelled for weather related reasons, passengers have an entitlement to care and assistance, which includes meals/refreshments, two phone calls or emails, accommodation, and a refund or alternative flight.
Tina Leonard, Managing Director, at the European Consumer Centre has urged stranded passengers to keep all receipts.
15.20 Germany has opened six airports in five German cities for flights heading in an easterly direction and for planes coming from there until 1800 GMT, a spokeswoman for German air traffic controllers has said.
The airports are Berlin Tegel, Berlin Schoenefeld, Erfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig and Hanover.
14.59 Restrictions on all flights across UK controlled airspace will remain in place until at least 7am tomorrow, air traffic control company Nats has said.
14.53 The French civil aviation authority has said that several airports, including Toulouse, that had been due to close on Sunday afternoon would now remain open until at least 2pm Irish time on Monday, April 19.
The airports of Bordeaux and Marseille will reopen and will remain open until the same time, a spokeswoman said.
Airline Air France said that a first test flight by a plane from Paris to Toulouse had ended without problems and further tests were continuing.
14.40 The closure of Dutch airspace has been extended to at least 7pm today Irish time, the transport ministry said.
14.26 Iarnród Éireann has advised customers of the following schedule alterations today on the Rosslare Europort-Dublin rail line.
The 17.40 Rosslare Europort to Dublin will be deferred to depart at 18.40, and operate one hour later throughout.
An additional service will also run from Rosslare Europort to Dublin this evening following the above altered service, and will depart when all ferry passengers are accommodated.
Iarnród Éireann thanks customers for their cooperation with these arrangements.
UK & European ferry/rail bookings
Customers wishing to make bookings from Ireland to the UK and Europe via rail and ferry services this week can contact Iarnród Éireann's European Rail Reservations section (Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm) at:
1850 366222
14.23 This week's Champions League semi-final first legs will go ahead as scheduled despite the current restriction on European air travel, UEFA have confirmed.
14.06 Two German airlines have criticised aviation authorities for not taking more account of test flights carried out to assess the safety of flying through the volcanic ash cloud.
‘We are amazed that the results of the test flights done by Lufthansa and Air Berlin have not had any bearing on the decision-making of the air safety authorities,’ Air Berlin Chief Executive Joachim Hunold said.
13.38 The Naval Service has been requested by the HSE to be prepared to transfer children in need of transplant operations to the UK by sea if required.
13.12 Europe's largest tourism company, TUI has said it has started collecting German holidaymakers in Spain to bring them home by bus.
12.55 Maurice Mullen of the Department of Transport has said restrictions on air travel are likely to remain for most of this week.
Mr Mullen said Irish embassies and consulates are reporting increased inquiries from Irish citizens stranded overseas, some concerning travel and some concerning financial issues.
12.50 The European aviation control agency, Eurocontrol, has said that a total of 63,000 flights had been cancelled in European airspace since Thursday. It said only 4,000 flights are expected in Europe today.
12.38 Scandinavian airline SAS has said all its flights will remain grounded until Tuesday with the exception of some flights from the US and a handful of flights in northern Norway.
12.37 An Post say things are 'holding up very well' at the moment. The company is using ferries to transport mail to the UK and sais anything posted up until Friday is on its way to its destination.
12.35 A Facebook group, Carpool Europe, has been set up to help those stuck in Europe. It says people can 'use this page to hitch a ride or offer a ride with your car'.
12.30 Ryanair has said it will make a further announcement on flights tomorrow and Tuesday at about 3pm today.
12.22 British Airways has cancelled all its flights on Monday. 'All long-haul and short-haul and domestic - every single flight is cancelled,' a BA spokesman said.
12.20 The European Commission has said it is setting up a group to assess the economic impact of the crisis and said any steps taken across the EU needed to be properly coordinated.
12.15 Aer Lingus has confirmed that all UK, European and US flights scheduled to depart tomorrow have been cancelled. This includes Aer Lingus Regional flights.
12.10 Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey has said there is no evidence to suggest that any falling ash is a danger to people's health.
Minister Dempsey also said stranded passengers should stay in contact with their embassies and their carriers.
12.00 Siobhan Moore of the Dublin Airport Authority has once again said that passengers should not turn up at the airport and should contact their airlines.
11.30 Romania reopened its airspace for transiting overflights. However, Prime Minister Emil Boc said take-offs and landings at its airports remain suspended.
11.12 Switzerland has extended its ban on commercial flights at its airports until tomorrow at 1pm.
However, aircraft overflying Switzerland at altitudes exceeding 36,000 feet (11,000 metres) will be allowed, along with low-level flights operated visually rather than by instruments.
11.10 The disruption could effect sporting fixtures if it continues next week. European football's governing body UEFA is monitoring the situation ahead of the semi-finals of the Champions League and Europa League.
11.05 Dutch airline KLM has said a test flight it carried out yesterday had revealed no engine damage or other problems from volcanic ash and it would run a further nine test flights.
A spokesman said: 'We have not found anything unusual and no irregularities, which indicates the atmosphere is clean and safe to fly.'
10.50 Italy's civil aviation authority (ENAC) has authorised a test flight today to assess the risk from volcanic ash from Iceland.
10.45 KLM Royal Dutch Airlines conducted a test flight from Amsterdam to Dusseldorf this morning to measure the impact of volcanic ash on aircraft. Its engines were fitted with filters that will be checked for ash particles.
10.30 Poland reopened its airspace at 3am but only for planes overflying the country, the spokesman for the Polish air traffic control agency said.
'The cloud of volcanic ash has moved lower, which means that the sky above is becoming clear,' said Grzegorz Hlebowicz.
10.15 Air France is to conduct a test flight over southwestern France later today to test the presence of volcanic ash in that section of the country.
France will close the last airports remaining open at 1pm as the cloud of volcanic ash moves south.
The civil aviation authority said the last airports remaining open in the southwest, such as Toulouse, Montpellier and Biarritz, would close for commercial traffic.
10.05 UK air traffic control company Nats said today that restrictions on flights in and out of the UK have been extended until 1am tomorrow.
9.40 The Irish Aviation Authority has extended the closure of Irish airspace to commercial traffic until 1pm tomorrow.
The IAA said: 'No commercial passenger flights, including North American traffic, will operate from any Irish airport during this period.
'Met experts are predicting that the prevailing weather conditions will continue in the coming days. Ongoing restrictions are therefore likely.'
European airport situation as of 9.35am this morning. All time are Irish.
BELGIUM - Airspace closed until at least 1pm. Main airline, Brussels Airlines, cancels all flights until Monday.
BULGARIA - Airspace closed as of 7am this morning.
DENMARK - Airspace closed until at least 1am Monday morning.
FINLAND - Airspace closed until at least 4pm Monday.
FRANCE - Paris airports will be closed until at least 7am Monday, as will Nice and Marseille and northern airports. Toulouse, Montpellier, Pau, Tarbes, Biarritz and Perpignan remain open.
GERMANY - German airspace shut until at least 7pm today.
HUNGARY - Airspace to remain closed until at least 11am Monday, although some flights at the discretion of traffic control may be allowed to take off or land.
ITALY - Northern airspace closed until at least 7am Monday.
LUXEMBOURG - Luxembourg airport closed until at least 5pm.
POLAND - Airspace closed since Friday, partial reopening possible later today.
RUSSIA - All airports open.
SLOVAKIA - Airspace closed as of 2pm on Friday.
SPAIN - Madrid airport open, but carrier Iberia cancels all its European flights except those to or from Portugal, southern Italy, Greece and Turkey.
SWEDEN - Airspace closed all day today and into Monday.
SWITZERLAND - Airspace closed until at least 1pm, except for aircraft able to fly at altitudes of 36,000 feet (11,000 metres) or higher.
9.20 Paul Charles of crisis advisory company Lewis PR said: 'The four days of disruption so far will have cost the European travel industry well over £1bn in terms of cancelled flights, lost hotel rooms and empty cruise liners.'
9.12 Ukraine International Airlines says it plans to resume international flights from Kiev at 10am.
9.10 Barcelona and ten other airports in the north of Spain have been closed until at least 3pm Irish time.
9.00 Fastnet Line still has space on its crossing from Swansea to Cork tonight and also on its two extra sailings between Cork and Swansea tomorrow.
8.35 A Eurostar spokeswoman said extra services were laid on yesterday and are planned again today to cope with an increased demand.
It expects to have taken more than 50,000 extra passengers between Thursday and today as a result of the cancelled flights.
8.30 The British Ministry of Defence is considering plans to fly troops wounded in Afghanistan to coalition partner countries such as Germany for treatment if UK air space remains closed.
8.20 Czech airspace is to stay closed until 9am tomorrow morning.
8.10 Danish airspace will remain closed until at least 1am said it aviation authority Naviair.
8.00 Shipping company FedEx Corp has said more than 100 FedEx Express flights headed to Europe have been rerouted, diverted or cancelled within the past 72 hours.
7.55 Space is available today on all four of Irish Ferries' services to the UK. The company will open and man its telephone reservations service from 9am to 1pm today.
7.50 Disruption has spread to Asia, where dozens of Europe-bound flights have been cancelled and hotels from Beijing to Singapore are straining to accommodate stranded passengers.
7.45 There will be no commercial flights in Finland until at least 2pm tomorrow.
7.30 Officials in Iceland have said that although the volcanic eruption appeared to be easing it could go on for days or even months.
US-based forecaster AccuWeather said an Atlantic storm and change in the direction of the jetstream on Thursday could break up the cloud.
7.25 The Netherlands has said more test flights will take place today to assess whether there was any danger in its airspace from volcanic ash after an earlier test flight was conducted safely.
Dutch airline KLM said it carried out a test flight yesterday without any apparent damage. Germany's Lufthansa flew ten planes in separate tests.
7.20 Bulgaria has become the latest coutnry to close its airpace.
7.00 Forecasters say the conditions that prompted the flight ban are unlikely to change for five days.
This indicates that Irish airports will not be able to start dealing with the backlog until next week-end at the earliest.
6.40 P&O Irish Sea has said services between Larne, Troon and Cairnryan continue to operate to schedule with spaces currently available for both vehicles and passengers on all sailings this evening and tomorrow morning.
6am Disruption to air travel is expected to continue for several days as the plume of ash from the volcano in Iceland continues to spread across Northern Europe.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office says the weather and wind direction are unlikely to change in the coming days.
All major airports across northern and central Europe were shut overnight and the closure of British airspace has been extended until 7pm this evening
Restrictions on flights to and from Ireland will remain in place until at least 1pm this afternoon.
Many international dignitaries will miss the state funeral of the Polish President Lech Kaczynski later today, because of the travel restrictions.
The International Civil Aviation Authority says the spread of ash is causing greater disruption to travel than the shutdown following the 2001 attacks on the US.
Pope Benedict is expected to fly home to Rome from Malta today as planned, despite the ash cloud from Iceland.
