Flight ban: British skies open at last

BRITAIN’S skies were finally opened last night after a day of mounting criticism over the flight ban.

The first international flight set to touch at Newcastle from Canada last night The first international flight set to touch at Newcastle from Canada last night

All UK airports were given the go-ahead by the Civil Aviation Authority to start opening British skies for business from 10pm after six days of closure during the flight ban.

The decision was greeted with relief by airlines, which had been losing up to £130million a day, and by the million UK passengers stranded abroad.

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The CAA said it had issued new guidance allowing a phased reintroduction of airspace which had been closed because of a second cloud of ash from the Icelandic volcano.

FLIGHT BAN Lawrence Llewelyn Bowen and family arrive at Heathrow last night FLIGHT BAN: Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen and family arrive at Heathrow last night

“There will continue to be some ‘no fly zones’ where concentrations of ash are at levels unsafe for flights to take place, but very much smaller than the present restrictions,” said a spokesman.

“Furthermore, the Met Office advise that the ‘no-fly zones’ do not currently cover the UK.”

The CAA admitted the decision to ground flights where there was evidence of any ash in the air had not been based on “much science”.

It said the ban had been changed from a zero tolerance approach to flying to allowing flights in low density areas after

new evidence from test flights.

The Met Office advise that the ‘no-fly zones’ do not currently cover the UK

“The major barrier to resuming flight has been understanding tolerance levels of aircraft to ash. Manufacturers have now agreed increased tolerance levels in low ash density areas,” the spokesman said.

“Our way forward is based on international data and evidence from previous volcanic ash incidents, new data collected from test flights and additional analysis from manufacturers over the past few days.”

Heathrow was due to open from 10pm with others following. Last night, the first plane to touch down from abroad in the UK landed at Newcastle airport shortly after 7pm.

The Air Transat flight from Canada was the first of 10 flights expected into Newcastle carrying around 2,200 passengers altogether.

Thomson Airlines was to provide the majority of the flights, bringing travellers back from Lanzarote, Tenerife, 

Portugal, Goa, Egypt and Cyprus.

Eastern Airways flew in one plane from Aberdeen and another of their jets made a return journey. Because of the spread of the ash cloud, the north-eastern air- port was the first in the UK allowed to clear planes for landing and take off.

A second plane, belonging to Qatar Airways, touched down at Edinburgh airport from Doha at around 8.15pm.

The easing of the restrictions came after a day in which Britain was increasingly isolated internationally as neighbouring states opened up.

The Daily Express discovered that Europe was using a map which shows most of its airspace – including Britain –

was safe. But the UK was using a map which shows the UK and northern Europe to be under a cloud of ash.

As the UK shutdown entered its sixth day, British Airways levelled a direct challenge to the aviation regulator, the CAA, by sending 26 long haul flights to Heathrow – even though it was shut.

The move came 24 hours after BA chief executive Willie Walsh branded the blanket ban as “unnecessary” because test flights across Europe had revealed no problems with volcanic ash.

With the jumbo jets pouring in from destinations including Beijing, BA said it was “hopeful” they would be allowed to land.

The CAA had been basing its decision to keep most of the UK’s airspace – including the busiest airports, Heath-

row, Gatwick and Stansted – closed on advice from the Met Office’s Volcanic Ash Advisory Centres.

Its maps, updated every six hours, yesterday afternoon showed most of northern Europe – and virtually all of the UK and Ireland – smothered by a volcanic ash cloud.

Mr Walsh said last night: “We have many years of experience of operating in areas of volcanic activity all around the

world. We are delighted the authorities have paid heed to the arguments we and the industry have put forward.”

Shadow Transport Secretary Theresa Villiers said: “This is welcome news but the Government must still prove they have a  clear rescue plan to deal with the massive backlog.”

Earlier in the day, Association of  European Airlines spokesman David Henderson questioned why the UK had not lifted airspace closure because “the UK was big and important”.

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