Air Traffic Slowly Being Re-established after Eruption of Volcano in Iceland

Meteorologists warn that conditions are still changing.

The large ash cloud from the eruption has halted air traffic since last week.

WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - Airline travelers are finally moving toward their destinations again on Monday following the eruption of a volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland last week. A plume of ash more than three and a half miles high brought air traffic to a halt in northern Europe.

A large number of European airports had been shut down for the past five days, but on Monday morning the German government gave Lufthansa Airlines permission to fly 50 planes and almost 15,000 passengers back to Germany. The British Royal Navy has also been dispatched across the English Channel to transport stranded travelers from the European mainland back to the United Kingdom.

Scottish airspace is expected to be open on Tuesday morning, with England and Wales probably opening later that same day.

Recent test flights in the affected area showed little impact from the eruption is left. Currently, ravel routes are being reassessed and safety issues reviewed. Debris from the ash cloud not only can clog jet engines but also destroy cockpit windshields, thus impeding visibility.

Any flights to and from Europe, outside of the impacted area, flew polar or southern routes to avoid problems.

Over 63,000 flights have been canceled due to the eruption. With airline losses of over $1 billion, officials have been critical of the lack of coordination in transportation efforts by European governments. Tempers have also been flaring among airline travelers stranded by the halt.

Speaking with Reuters News, European Union Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas stated that he was hoping 50 percent of European airspace would be risk-free by Monday. He stated that the situation could not remain as it is. "We cannot wait until the ash flows just disappear," he said.

The Associated Press has reported that, according to Eurocontrol, the air traffic agency in Brussels less than one-third of flights were taking off Monday; that would number between 8,000 and 9,000 of Europe's 28,000 scheduled flights. Airports in southern Europe are open and Spain offered to become an emergency hub for the whole continent.

Giovanni Bisignani, CEO of the International Air Transport Association, told The AP, "It's embarrassing, and a European mess. It took five days to organize a conference call with the ministers of transport and we are losing $200 million per day (and) 750,000 passengers are stranded all over. Does it make sense?"

Meteorologists are warning officials that winds and continuing eruptions from the volcano continue to change the overall situation. These concerns are colliding with Europe's need to resume flights.

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