Flights resume, blame game begins

London: European skies have been reopened and passengers have started to arrive at London airports after the unprecedented six-day airspace lockdown sparked by a volcanic ash cloud from Iceland.
Aviation authorities in Europe agreed to change the size and shape of no-fly zones, opening air space through areas not polluted by the ash cloud.
Airlines now face a massive logistical operation to return hundreds of thousands of passengers to their destinations after the cancellation of an estimated 95,000 flights across Europe alone.
The British Airways chief executive, Willie Walsh, warned that it would take ''weeks'' to get schedules back to normal.
The decision to reopen airspace, announced by the Transport Secretary, Lord Adonis, and the British Civil Aviation Authority, comes after intense lobbying from the airline industry in Europe.
Airlines have been forced to thrash out and agree to a ''safe'' level of volcanic ash under which flights can resume.
The Guardian reported that regulators in Europe have been trying for years to force airlines to set specific thresholds but they have been hampered by the aviation industry's fears of losing a plane in spite of a dust all-clear.
The Civil Aviation Authority has stated that its safety tests show that plane engines have ''increased tolerance levels in low ash density areas'' and has now set down strict risk assessment requirements for airlines to ensure aircraft are rigorously inspected and monitored.
Recriminations about Britain taking an overly conservative response to the crisis started with the Conservative Party's transport spokeswoman, Theresa Villiers, calling for an inquiry into the ''fiasco''. She said six days into the crisis, experts have suddenly stated that there are safe levels.
Mr Walsh has echoed her concerns: ''I don't believe it was necessary to impose a blanket ban on all UK airspace last Thursday. My personal belief is that we could have safely continued operating for a period of time.''
22/04/10 Paola Totaro/Sydney Morning Herald

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Categories: Foreign Apr 2010, Indian Aviation- In General Apr 2010