THE volcanic ash cloud from Iceland is currently still spread across the UK and parts of Northern Europe forcing the cancellation of more flights. This morning eleven Spanish airports were closed at 08:30 and are expected to remain closed until at least 20:00hrs. The affected airports are at Barcelona, Lleida Asturias, Girona, Reus, Sabadell, Bilbao, Santander, San Sebastián, Vitoria, Pamplona and Logroño. And this afternoon the airports of Palma de Mallorca and Menorca were closed at 12noon - they, also, will remain closed until at least 20:00hrs.

NATS Statement on Icelandic volcanic eruption: Sunday April 18, 10:00 (UK Time)

The volcanic ash cloud from Iceland is currently spread across the UK. Based on the latest information from the Met Office, NATS advises that the restrictions currently in place across UK controlled airspace will remain in place until at least 0100 (local time) tomorrow, Monday 19 April.

There may be limited opportunity in Orkney and Shetland from 1900 (local time) today for some flights to operate under individual coordination with ATC. However, it is most unlikely that many flights will operate today and anyone hoping to travel should contact their airline before travelling to the airport.

We will continue to monitor Met Office information and review our arrangements in line with that. We will advise further arrangements at approximately 1500 (local time), today.

Meanwhile the Spanish airports authority, AENA, is advising all passengers to check the status of their flights with their airline before travelling to the airport.

As of 7pm yesterday 2029 flights (993 arrivals and 1036 departures) had been affected into and out of Spain fromGermany, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Holland, Italy, Luxembourg, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Sweden, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Romania, Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

The AENA information telephone numbers are 902 404 704 and (+34) 91 321 10 00.

As the UK's independent specialist aviation regulator the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is working with NATS and UK airlines to ensure safety compliance during the current restrictions on airspace. They offer the following advice to passengers:

Air Passenger Rights

European legislation provides rights to passengers if flights into, within or out of the EU are delayed or cancelled. If you flew abroad with a non-European airline and you are outside Europe the legislation does not apply and you will need to check with your airline. Many countries will have their own laws in place which will provide similar levels of protection.

If your flight has been cancelled and you have not travelled to the airport, you will need to contact your airline. Your airline is obliged to either re-book you onto an alternative flight or to offer you a refund.

If you were already at the airport when your flight was cancelled, in addition to the above, you may also be entitled to meals and refreshments, along with two free telephone calls, e-mails, telexes or faxes and, if the delay is overnight, hotel accommodation and transport to and from the hotel. However, as the disruption is beyond the airlines' control there is no right to financial compensation.

Package Holidays

If you have booked a package holiday your tour operator will be responsible for protecting your holiday and providing you with a suitable alternative holiday or a full refund. You should contact your travel agent or tour operator to arrange this. If you are currently abroad please contact your local tour rep for more information. if you are due to travel in the next few days please contact your tour operator or travel agent for an update.

Other Protections

You should check your travel insurance as some policies will cover you if a journey or holiday is cancelled owing to the flight problems. However, if you have booked flights and accommodation separately you could lose any money that you have spent on hotel accommodation. If you paid by credit card, you may be able to claim the cost of the flight from your credit card provider.

Live flight information from Malaga airport...

To create link towards this article on your website,
copy and paste the text below in your page.

<style type="text/css"><!--.quote {width:350px; padding: 6px; border: solid 1px #456B8F; font: 10px helvetica, verdana, sans-serif; color: #222222; background-color: #ffffff}.quote a {font: 13px arial, serif; color: #003399; text-decoration: underline}.quote a:hover {color: #FF9900; }//--></style><div style="float:left;padding:5px;"><img src="/guadiaro-valley/images/stories/news/flying.jpg" width="120" alt="" /></div><div class="quote"><a href="http://www.secretandalucia.com/guadiaro-valley/news/446-day-four-volcanic-ash-flight-chaos-worstens.html" target="_blank">Day Four: Volcanic Ash Flight Chaos Worstens</a><br />Sunday, 18 April 2010<br /> THE volcanic ash cloud from Iceland is currently still spread across the UK and parts of Northern Europe forcing the cancellation of more...<div align="right" style="width:350px"><p style="text-align:right;">© 2012 - <a href="http://www.secretandalucia.com/guadiaro-valley/" target="_blank">Secret Andalucia - Guadiaro Valley, near Ronda</a></p></div></div>

Preview :

Day Four: Volcanic Ash Flight Chaos Worstens
Sunday, 18 April 2010
THE volcanic ash cloud from Iceland is currently still spread across the UK and parts of Northern Europe forcing the cancellation of more...

© 2012 - Secret Andalucia - Guadiaro Valley, near Ronda

Powered by QuoteThis © 2008