Manchester Airport Opening Tomorrow

[ekco]

Just seen on Sky New that Manchester Airport opening gradually throughout tomorrow.:):)

 

Jan

[ekco]

Looks like the others are following as well, Hurray.:D:D

 

Jan

[Cymro1953]

Just seen on Sky New that Manchester Airport opening gradually throughout tomorrow.:):)

 

Jan

 

Hi Jan,

Don't get too excited. Unless they change the clear area the only things will be flying will be North of Blackpool.

 

BBC news said, just after they reported volcano had lessened intensity, eruptions were getting strong stronger again.

 

Berwyn

[ekco]

Hi Jan,

Don't get too excited. Unless they change the clear area the only things will be flying will be North of Blackpool.

 

BBC news said, just after they reported volcano had lessened intensity, eruptions were getting strong stronger again.

 

Berwyn

 

Think positive Berwyn. I'm getting excited for you and all the others biting their nails this week. Even if they just get rid of a bit of the backlog it'll clear the decks for when the wind changes at the weekend, just in time for your holiday.

 

Jan

[Cymro1953]

Think positive Berwyn. I'm getting excited for you and all the others biting their nails this week. Even if they just get rid of a bit of the backlog it'll clear the decks for when the wind changes at the weekend, just in time for your holiday.

 

Jan

 

Hi,

I'm being rational and level headed :D

At least the sun's come out again, been dull all day.

 

Berwyn

[ekco]

Hi,

I'm being rational and level headed :D

At least the sun's come out again, been dull all day.

 

Berwyn

 

Gone in again here, been really cold all day. At the moment the line is from Newcastle to Blackpool and if no deterioration Manchester opens at 9.00am and the Midlands midday. Fingers crossed, you might, just might have to forget about the log cabin and hot tub.:D:D

 

Jan

[Cymro1953]

Gone in again here, been really cold all day. At the moment the line is from Newcastle to Blackpool and if no deterioration Manchester opens at 9.00am and the Midlands midday. Fingers crossed, you might, just might have to forget about the log cabin and hot tub.:D:D

 

Jan

 

Yes, and it'll give us a week to see who is right. British Airlines and others, or the Met office and the Nato jet boys.

See if any start dropping out of the sky after loads of flights back and forth and get their engines clogged up. :eek: Not just the one test flight.

 

Berwyn

[ekco]

Yes, and it'll give us a week to see who is right. British Airlines and others, or the Met office and the Nato jet boys.

See if any start dropping out of the sky after loads of flights back and forth and get their engines clogged up. :eek: Not just the one test flight.

 

Berwyn

 

True, from what I can gather France is opening air corridors so not a complete dropping of restrictions. Perhaps it might just be the flights that go over Spain and the Atlantic where they haven't been affected that much. That would suit you though. Who knows, if the volcano starts up again over night it'll be all change. At least you're not flying to Iceland :D.

Should be interesting tomorrow anyway.

 

Jan

[Cymro1953]

True, from what I can gather France is opening air corridors so not a complete dropping of restrictions. Perhaps it might just be the flights that go over Spain and the Atlantic where they haven't been affected that much. That would suit you though. Who knows, if the volcano starts up again over night it'll be all change. At least you're not flying to Iceland :D.

Should be interesting tomorrow anyway.

 

Jan

 

We'd be better off going to Iceland. It's 90% clear there. All the muck is blowing this way.

That's the problem with flying to Palma, only the last little bit after crossing the Pyrenees that is in what is clear airspace at present.

This from Met Office 4.25 pm

A Met spokesman told the BBC that whereas eruptions had subsided this morning to between 4,000 and 5,000 feet, they had increased within the past two hours back to a height of 10,000 ft.

[scout1956]

Just seen on Sky New that Manchester Airport opening gradually throughout tomorrow.:):)

 

Jan

Airspace over Scotland, Northern Ireland and some of northern England will open tomorrow at 7am with a dramatic reduction in the no-fly zone over Europe set to be agreed by EU transport ministers after a video conference this afternoon.

 

The sky is to be divided into three areas, with the no-fly zone restricted to the areas immediately over the volcanic plume, The Times understands.

 

A second zone will cover an area where ash may be present but flights will be allowed under strict conditions. The third area will be open skies where flights can take place as usual.

 

The new system, which ministers want to start from tomorrow morning, will replace the current system of national airpsace flight bans, which has brought travel misery to thousands of passengers and emptied the skies of planes.

 

 

The development came as the National Air Traffic Systems (Nats) announced the partial opening of British skies from 7am, with the possibility that the rest of the country could be clear by the evening.

 

The sky above Scotland and as far south as Teesside and Blackpool will be the first to be reopened along with that over the Scottish mainland, a spokesperson for Nats said.

 

“The latest Met Office advice is that the contaminated area will continue to move south with the possibility that restrictions to airspace above England and Wales, including the London area, may be lifted later tomorrow,” they added.

 

“The volcanic eruption has reduced and the volcano is not currently emitting ash to altitudes that will affect the UK. Assuming there are no further significant ash emissions we are now looking at a continuously improving situation.

 

“It is now for airports and airlines to decide how best to utilise this opportunity. Passengers should contact their airlines to find out how this will affect their travel plans.”

 

The Met Office’s most recent forecast shows the cloud moving south over night and clearing Scotland, Northern Ireland and the north of England by 7am. Most of western and central Europe will remain under the ash cloud in the morning.

 

Flights from Britain will still not be able to pass through the ash cloud barrier, which tomorrow morning is still expected to stretch from eastern Canada to the middle of Russia.

 

The announcement will bring hope to around 150,000 British travellers still stranded abroad since the flight restrictions began on Thursday, as well as the airlines, which have lost millions of pounds per day.

 

In a sign of the generally improving situation, Lufthansa was given permission by German air authorities permitted to land 50 passenger flights in Germany.

 

However, Nats warned the situation was “dynamic and changing” and difficult to forecast beyond tomorrow morning. A further update is expected at 9pm tonight.

 

Earlier, a Met Office spokesperson said: “The eruption has virtually ceased with only small amounts of ash up to 6,000 feet.”

 

The decision to partially reopen British airspace comes after a day of increasing pressure on the government.

 

Willie Walsh, British Airways’s chief executive, said this morning that the continued restrictions were “unnecessary”.

 

Mr Walsh, who accompanied a two-hour test flight through the no-fly zone yesterday, said: "The analysis we have done so far, alongside that from other airlines' trial flights, provides fresh evidence that the current blanket restrictions on airspace are unnecessary.

 

"We believe airlines are best positioned to assess all available information and determine what, if any, risk exists to aircraft, crew and passengers.“

 

The crisis has led BA to ask the Government for a bailout after losing £80 million since the airspace closures began. Almost all of the airline’s aircraft have been grounded since Thursday and the airline said that the disruption was costing the business £15 million to £20 million per day.

[Jim The Scot]

Not wanting to burst anyones bubble but even if Manchester did re open tomorrow surely it would take sometime to get flights back up and running and back to some normality.It also does not help anyone on a Thomson flight as they`re website is still stating that all UK outbound flights are cancelled up to and including Wednesday.

[Cymro1953]

Not wanting to burst anyones bubble but even if Manchester did re open tomorrow surely it would take sometime to get flights back up and running and back to some normality.It also does not help anyone on a Thomson flight as they`re website is still stating that all UK outbound flights are cancelled up to and including Wednesday.

 

That's why I'm being cautious and trying to keep calm.

I won't start packing until Sunday, just in case.

 

Berwyn

[scout1956]

Not wanting to burst anyones bubble but even if Manchester did re open tomorrow surely it would take sometime to get flights back up and running and back to some normality.It also does not help anyone on a Thomson flight as they`re website is still stating that all UK outbound flights are cancelled up to and including Wednesday.

 

I quite agree but here's hoping things start to return to normality quickly. I imagine Thomson will not be intending to send empty aircraft out to repatriate pax. We don't tavel until the 7th May and not complacent by any means.

[Cymro1953]

I quite agree but here's hoping things start to return to normality quickly. I imagine Thomson will not be intending to send empty aircraft out to repatriate pax. We don't tavel until the 7th May and not complacent by any means.

 

Hi Scout,

This is an extract from the latest Thomson update.

As reported on news bulletins, some parts of UK airspace could be re-opened tomorrow following several days of closure. Our absolute priority is to repatriate those customers stranded overseas as soon as we can. However, parts of Europe are still in a no-fly zone and until we have clearance across an entire route, we will not be in a position to operate those flights. At this time, Thomson Airways is anticipating that it could take a further 48 hours after the opening of airspace, before our flying programme starts to return to normal. Once the situation becomes clearer, we will not hesitate to post details on our websites.

 

 

Berwyn

[scout1956]

Hi Scout,

This is an extract from the latest Thomson update.

As reported on news bulletins, some parts of UK airspace could be re-opened tomorrow following several days of closure. Our absolute priority is to repatriate those customers stranded overseas as soon as we can. However, parts of Europe are still in a no-fly zone and until we have clearance across an entire route, we will not be in a position to operate those flights. At this time, Thomson Airways is anticipating that it could take a further 48 hours after the opening of airspace, before our flying programme starts to return to normal. Once the situation becomes clearer, we will not hesitate to post details on our websites.

 

 

Berwyn

I take your point Berwyn and as we are all mainly going on a Thomsons Cruise/Package then the only site with any relevance is theirs. If circumstances permit and they start to accomodate pax departures on Thurs' then that's good news for all. I think we are lucky that Thomson have given people the opportunity to cancel without penalty over the past several days, but lets not bury our head in the sand as mother nature can still bite us in the bum :)

[Cymro1953]

but lets not bury our head in the sand as mother nature can still bite us in the bum :)

 

Like the news tonight on BBC at 11p.m. Volcano has strengthened in intensity and a new ash cloud is heading towards UK :eek:

So at present they are still saying Scottish airspace will open at 0700 tomorrow, but it could change.

 

Berwyn

[scout1956]

Fingers crossed things improve for everyone and they get to their cruise and home safely. I have previously sailed with Thomson and very impressed at the way they appear to remain focused on the welfare of their customers during this incident.

Come what may I will not be deterred to sail with them in the future :)