Useful Links - Airlines/Airports/Ferries/Buses/Trains/etc
Main developments
- Full services could take three days to return
- Aer Lingus services to operate as normal today
- Ryanair's Ireland & UK services return tomorrow
- Stranded passengers returning home
20.51 Iceland's main airport will close tomorrow because of an ash cloud for the first time since the volcano erupted last week, closing much of European air space, officials said today.
‘It seems like ash will be going into the area and Keflavik will be closed for air traffic,’ Hjordis Gudmundsdottir, spokeswoman for the Civil Aviation Authority, told AFP, not specifying when the airport would be closing.
15.03 Flight training on RAF Typhoon jets has been 'temporarily suspended' after inspectors found deposits of ash in one of the fleet's engines, according the UK's Ministry of Defence.
14.30 Chief Executive of the Dublin Port Company Enda Connellan said: 'The past week has been the busiest ever for Dublin Port Company's ferry terminals, with over 72,000 passengers moving through Ireland's largest port following the unprecedented disruption of air traffic.
'The five ferry companies operating at Dublin Port have worked tirelessly to facilitate the thousands of passengers who sought alternatives to either make or complete their travels by sea.'
13.55 If you missed the updates about Dublin and regional airports on the One News, you can watch it here.
13.35 You can track the eruption of the volcano from your own home by visiting this website.
13.30 Norway's aviation authority has confirmed that it airspace has fully reopened.
12.45 It has emerged today that during the period flights were grounded a record 72,000 passengers travelled on ferries through Dublin Port.
12.40 The Commission for Aviation Regulation has said that there is scope for a review of EU legislation allowing passengers claim reimbursements from airlines.
Patricia Barton of the Commission for Aviation Regulation said however that law is the law and airlines cannot opt out of legislation when it suits.
Passengers intending to claim expenses incurred as a result of the travel disruption are being advised to contact the Commission for Aviation Regulation.
11.55 The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has put the overall cost of the crisis to the airline industry at €1.3bn.
11.30 RTÉ's Cathy Halloran reports that Shannon Airport is quiet this morning. There are no scheduled Aer Lingus services to New York and the service to Boston has been cancelled.
Ryanair says while its services toStansted and Gatwick are cancelled, its services to Poland and Nantes in France will operate this evening.
A Thomas Cook service bringing holidaymakers to Ibiza is also scheduled to leave at 2.25pm.
10.55 Ryanair spokesperson Stephen McNamara has said Michael O'Leary 'got it wrong' when he said the airline would limit its refunds to stranded passengers.
The airline today said it was happy to work within the EU regulations which allow passengers to claim reasonable expenses.
Extra staff have been drafted in to deal with the expenses claims.
Passengers are asked to send in copies of their receipts when they return home.
It is hoped that they will be refunded within a number of weeks.
10.15 Did you miss Morning Ireland? Click here to listen to this morning's programme.
10.00 In a statement this morning, Ryanair says it will comply with EU261 regulations under which EU airlines are required to reimburse the reasonable receipted expenses of disrupted passengers.
10.00 Flights from the three airports in Northern Ireland are beginning to get back to normal.
A George Best Belfast City Airport spokesperson said half of all flights got away yesterday and most airlines are hoping to operate a full schedule today. Ryanair flights to Britain however will not resume until 6.30am tomorrow.
A Flybe arrival from Glasgow was cancelled and a Flybe departure to Edinburgh this morning has also been cancelled.
At Belfast International Airport, a spokesperson said about 60% of its flights took off yesterday. All Aer Lingus flights to Britain and Europe are scheduled to operate today.
EasyJet flights are also operating.
City of Derry airport is also operating but a Ryanair service to and from London Stansted this evening has been cancelled.
09.50 Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano kept erupting today.
‘The eruption is still going on but activity is stable. There's no sign of another eruption,’ said a spokeswoman with the crisis unit of Icelandic civil protection authorities.
‘The plume remains low and the tremors haven't increased,’ she said.
09.00 Live flight information for Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports
08.59 Cian McCormack tells RTÉ’s Morning Ireland the advice for people travelling to Dublin Airport is to only go if you have a confirmed reservation.
He said some delays can be expected.
08.49 BMI says it will operate a full schedule between Dublin and London Heathrow today.
BD121, BD123, BD129 and BD131 will all depart London Heathrow for Dublin on schedule. BD122, BD124, BD130 and BD132 will all depart Dublin for London Heathrow on schedule.
08.46 Activity at the main airport in Paris is 'back to normal' today. At Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport, most flights were displayed as on time as queues formed at check-out counters. An airport official said that there were only 'a few disruptions on flights bound for England'.
08.30 Cork Airport Authority’s Kevin Cullinane told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that flight operations have begun as scheduled. He said a full schedule from Aer Lingus and Aer Arann is expected today.
He said that so far today everything that should have departed has left.
Mr Cullinane said it will take a further two days to clear the backlog and passengers will need to be patient.
He said there has been a direct loss of revenue in terms of aircraft landing and retail at the airport over the past few days
During the downtime, the airport carried out maintenance on its runway.
08.22 More updates on air travel shortly on Morning Ireland - listen or watch live
07.50 Several airports are still closed in Sweden and Norway, but elsewhere in Scandinavia, all Danish airspace has reopened.
07.40 The advice to passengers is to confirm their booking before they travel to the airport and to expect delays.
07.20 Aer Lingus is adding capacity with a total number of 2,000 extra seats to accommodate the maximum number of passengers travelling on the following routes; Tenerife, Las Palmas, Malaga, Barcelona, Lisbon, Naples, Venice, Milan and Dubrovnik.
Extra flights have also been scheduled to accommodate passengers travelling between Dublin and Catania in Sicily, and between Dublin and Fuerteventura.
07.10 Owner of Virgin Airlines Richard Branson has said passengers should be compensated.
07.00 Efforts are continuing to bring flight schedules back to normal after six days of disruption caused by the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland.
Stranded passengers started to return home yesterday but it could be a number of days before service returns to normal.
Aer Lingus resumed a partial service and today the airline has confirmed that all its flights between Ireland and Britain, Europe and the US are scheduled to operate as normal.
Ryanair has said all its flights in Northern Europe resumed this morning, with the exception of flights between Ireland and the Britain, which will resume tomorrow.
