Airlines make test flights amid wait for clear skies
Updated
Flight restrictions: thousands of flights were cancelled for a third day in most of central and northern Europe (AFP: Mehdi Fedouach)
Dutch and German airlines have carried out test flights over Europe and say their planes appeared undamaged by a volcanic ash cloud that has forced airports to close across the continent.
A plume of ash spreading from Iceland has led to massive air travel disruptions in recent days, and problems are getting worse as the cloud spreads south-east across Europe.
The volcanic ash contains tiny particles of glass and pulverised rock, which can melt in plane engines, causing a loss of power.
Dutch airline KLM says if further examinations show its test flight to have been successful, it hopes to fly seven planes back from Germany to Amsterdam on Sunday (local time) and get permission to partially restart its operations.
KLM says it flew a two-engine Boeing 737-800 over the Netherlands at the regular altitude of 10 kilometres, at the maximum 13 kilometres, and at other levels.
"We have found nothing unusual, neither during the flight, nor during the first inspection on the ground," KLM chief executive Peter Hartman, who took part in the test flight, said.
"If the technical examination confirms this image, we are ready tomorrow to fly back our seven planes from Duesseldorf to Amsterdam.
"We then hope to get permission as soon as possible to partially restart our operations and get our passengers to their destinations."
Germany's Lufthansa says it flew 10 planes to Frankfurt from Munich, mostly flying at a 'visual level' of 3,000 metres while also testing conditions through to a height of 8,000 metres.
"All airplanes have been inspected on arrival in Frankfurt but there was no damage to the cockpit windows or fuselage and no impact on the engines," company spokesman Aage Duenhaupt said.
The situation for people booked on flights to Europe is getting worse, with flights in and out of Britain and much of Europe still grounded and more destinations becoming off-limits to planes.
Thousands of flights have been cancelled for a third day in most central and northern regions of the continent, and the lifting of flight restrictions is creeping further and further away as the plume of ash continues to spread, shutting down more airports.
Singapore Airlines spokeswoman Susan Bredow says it normally flies 1,000 passengers a day to Europe from Australia, so there is a huge backlog.
"[The situation] has deteriorated. Some ports that were still open yesterday are now closed today," she said.
Ms Bredow says Europe-bound passengers flying out of Australia are being urged to stay at home.
The airline does not know when it will be able to fly into Europe again but is rebooking people on flights later this week.
Qantas has cancelled all inbound and outbound services to Europe. Its passengers are being transferred to the next available scheduled flight or offered a refund.
In the UK, all flights to and from London's airports are suspended until at least 10pm on Sunday (local time).
Some airlines have already said they are not flying into northern Europe until Monday at the earliest.
But industry insiders worry the situation is a little more dire. They predict movement is four or five days away at best.
Airlines are losing more than $200 million a day and are watching their share prices fall.
Iceland's volcano continues to belch out ash and grit and scientists warn this could be the case for weeks and even months.
Imports like fruit and pharmaceutical supplies are expected to start dwindling and some airlines have foreshadowed staff layoffs.
The only silver lining is the roaring trade being enjoyed by ferry, train and taxi services.
Airspace is partially or completely closed in at least 23 countries.
- Reuters/ABC
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