[ GLOBAL CRISIS ]
Airlines Challenge Restrictions As Ash Snags 6.8 Million Passengers

Europe remained a virtual no-fly zone for days as airlines urged an immediate re-think of flight restrictions to ease pressure on nearly seven million passengers grounded by ash emanating from Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland.

However, the European Union presidency offered a glimmer of hope for stranded passengers, saying half of the flights scheduled in Europe could go ahead.

Several European carriers launched test flights to challenge warnings that the volcanic ash cloud spreading across Europe from the volcano would destroy jet engines. Air France and KLM reported no problems.

A grouping of the continent’s 36 major carriers called on governments for an “immediate reassessment” of the restrictions, saying they were having a “devastating impact” on the industry, and questioning whether they were proportionate.

“Airlines must be able to fly where it is safe to fly and make decisions accordingly. It is what our passengers demand of us,” the Association of European Airlines said.

Meanwhile, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines declared European airspace “safe” after a series of test flights, as the Dutch traffic authority said KLM would be allowed to fly three cargo flights to Asia.

Two of Europe’s three biggest airports, London Heathrow and Paris-Charles de Gaulle, remained shut.

But German authorities authorized the other, Frankfurt, plus five other national airports, to resume a limited service for several hours depending on the flight’s direction.

Airports that had been closed in northern and eastern Spain, and airports in southern France, also reopened.

About 30 countries closed or restricted their airspace due to passenger safety fears, snagging 6.8 million passengers in a global backlog, according to the international airports council, ACI.

“More than 6.8 million passengers have been affected so far and European airports have lost close to 136 million euros (183 million dollars),” said its European head Olivier Jankovec, adding that a total of 313 airports had been paralyzed by the restrictions.

More than 7,000 transit passengers were stranded in the Gulf states of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Dubai-based Emirates Airlines said it was “providing accommodation and three meals a day for more than 5,000... transit passengers at a cost of more than one million dollars per day.”

In Singapore, Changi airport and airlines set aside special areas for stranded passengers to eat and sleep and tried to provide them with free meals, sleeping bags and even tours of the city.

The enormous shroud of fine mineral dust particles now stretches from the Arctic Circle in the north to the French Mediterranean coast in the south, and from Spain into Russia.

“This is one of the most serious disruptions we have seen to air travel and our first priority must be the safety of passengers,” British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told BBC television.

“The most important issue is making sure that it is safe to fly.” Some governments set up emergency cells to work out how to get tens of thousands of stranded nationals home.

EU Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso said he had ordered a full study to assess the impact of the situation created by the volcanic ash cloud on the economy, and the air travel industry in particular.

The closures stopped world leaders, including US President Barack Obama, from flying to the Polish city of Krakow for the state funeral of president Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria.

[ BY SATISH VISVADIA ]