Five southern German airports closed due to a second ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano have been reopened, authorities announced late on Sunday evening.
The knock-on damage to airlines because of last month’s volcano ash cloud over Europe is becoming clear after Germany’s second biggest carrier, Air Berlin, on Thursday revealed a sharp drop in the number of seats it filled in April.
German Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer will host a meeting for airlines and aviation officials in Berlin on Tuesday to review ways to handle future problems with volcanic ash.
Air traffic authorities’ Wednesday decision to lift restrictions on German airspace – effectively declaring it safe to fly – was based on the same computer simulations previously criticised as insufficient by airlines, officials have told The Local.
The grounding of European flights from volcanic ash cost airlines US$1.7 billion in lost sales alone, the head of their main industry body said Wednesday, calling for "urgent" government help.
Air travel in Germany was set to creep back to normality Wednesday with the air traffic authority DFS announcing air space would be opened at 11 am for all regular flights.
German authorities have extended the closure of the country's airspace to 2 am Wednesday due to the giant plume of volcanic ash, though some airlines continued to operate flights with special permission.
Two comprehensive test flights by aircraft-manufacturer Airbus have shown no damage to aircraft or pilot's visibility, a company spokesman said Tuesday, suggesting the danger in volcanic ash-affected European airspace is lower than thought.
German luxury automaker BMW is partially halting production at several sites because of spare parts not arriving due to the turmoil in European air traffic, a spokesman said on Tuesday.
Many German airlines resumed service on Tuesday morning despite another extension on the flight ban until at least 8 pm due to volcanic ash still hovering over Europe.
Federal Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer has defended extensions to the flight ban against mounting criticism from the airline industry that decisions are being made on insufficient data.
Even the world’s most powerful woman couldn’t do a damned thing against the volcano chaos this weekend. Between the geological force of the earth’s mantle and the bureaucratic power of aviation authorities, Chancellor Angela Merkel was as helpless as the hundreds of thousands of other travellers stuck far from home this weekend.
Around 800 air passengers are stuck in transit at Frankfurt airport – with no visa for the European Union they are not allowed to leave the building, but no planes are allowed to take-off, leaving them stranded.
Germany's two largest airlines have questioned the sense of the flight ban - now extended until 8 pm on Sunday as a cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland continues to occupy European air space.
German airspace has been closed until at least Sunday 8 pm, as the weather continues to blow the ash from the Icelandic volcano over mainland Europe, halting practically all air travel.
Munich was the final major German airport to close on Friday evening, after volcanic ash from Iceland halted air traffic across the country. Lufthansa announced it was grounding all flights until noon Saturday.
