Flights cancelled due to volcanic ash cloud from Iceland, Eyjafjallajokull

[Desert Rat]

One of the main difference between Sand and Volcanic ash, is the fact that the ash contains particles whose melting point is below engine internal temperature, meaning that it will automatically melt if they pass through the engine, then stick on the turbine vanes and disturb the flow of high-pressure combustion gases, could case engine stall, vibrations,flame out...

And also sand blast the rest of the fuselage exposed to the airflow.

[sn26567]

Swiss International Air Lines Update:
Swiss airspace stays closed until Tuesday morning 08 CEST, therefore we have decided to cancel all European flights and all long-haul flights on Monday (19 April) for the full day. Please do not come to the airport, but check swiss.com for further information on rebooking and refund options

[sn26567]

I guess that at least 3 A330 must have been underway to Africa at that time...

There are indeed three SN A330s in Africa.

[LAGPanoramic]

VFR means Visual Flight Rules.

Short cut, see wikipedia and Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC)

Thanks for this

[Desert Rat]

I guess that at least 3 A330 must have been underway to Africa at that time...

There are indeed three SN A330s in Africa.

meaning 60 crewmember's on the wild...

[sn26567]

finally some humor in this topic

If you want another piece of humour you could ask, in French:*

Alors, ils volcans, les avions?

You can also the British and the Dutch say:

Iceland didn't listen: we asked for cash, noy for ash!

[Desert Rat]

finally some humor in this topic

If you want another piece of humour you could ask, in French:*

Alors, ils volcans, les avions?

[tolipanebas]

If I am not mistaken, SN has a total of 13 planes stuck in outstation (both AFI as EU).

Taking into account there are also crews in outstation without plane on the ground at the time of closure, this means hundreds of crew members are stuck, which is one of the reasons SN (or in fact any other airline) could not just relaunch normal ops as soon as the embargo is finally lifted.

It's a mess which will go on for several days after that date even.

[Propwash]

Swiss International Air Lines Update:
Swiss airspace stays closed until Tuesday morning 08 CEST, therefore we have decided to cancel all European flights and all long-haul flights on Monday (19 April) for the full day. Please do not come to the airport, but check swiss.com for further information on rebooking and refund options

Swiss airspace is ONLY closed for IFR Traffic and NOT for VFR traffic

[LAGPanoramic]

Why do cars, vans, coaches, trucks, diesel trains, boats have to pay taxes on fuel, but planes don't have to??

That's a big help enough in my opinion...

There's no VAT on the fuel of planes on INTERNATIONAL flights, because airlines are charged significant sums for overflight rights by each country they pass through. Just ask anybody in the know how much the Russians charge for instance to overfly Siberia on the way to Japan! You'd be stunned, as you could buy an SUV with that fee alone! If airlines would pay VAT on the fuel used as well, they'd be in fact paying taxes TWICE on the same journey, once at the country of origin where they've uploaded the fuel, as well as at each place they overfly. Double taxation is something not commonly seen indeed in international trade, so that's why an INTERNATIONAL treaty makes aviation fuels for international flights VAT free. Makes perfect sense.

First of all, I wasn't talking about the VAT on fuel, but about the other tax: accijnzen in NL, accises in FR!
Road transport has to pay twice as well: first the taxes on fuel (accises/accijnzen) and then the taxes to use the roads (fix taxes in Belgium, variable taxes (péages) in France)
So following your thoughts, as road transport has to pay rights to drive on the roads, they should be free of taxes on fuel!!! Makes perfect sense either

Anyway, some sort of financial package will have to be agreed too by the EU, it's only logical.

If farmers get compensation because the weather ruins their harvest, or car plants get billions in subsidies just cause they'd otherwise close shop due to the financial crisis, the most labour intensive sector of the EU economy (yes, that's right!) can not be let to go under, just because aviation has been the preferred experimental test case of the EU when it comes to fully liberalizing the internal market.

You get a point: time to stop wasting tax payer's money for industries (both car as agricultural) who are coping with a structural overcapacity for years if not decades...

[sn26567]

Not only are crew and planes affected abroad: 600 SN passengers are stranded in Kinshasa. The SN A330 which is in Kinshasa will be sent as soon as possible to Belgium, not as a regular flight, but as a repatriation flight. AF passengers could possibly benefit from it.

[LAGPanoramic]

finally some humor in this topic

If you want another piece of humour you could ask, in French:*

Alors, ils volcans, les avions?

You can also the British and the Dutch say:

Iceland didn't listen: we asked for cash, noy for ash!

rolf!

[LAGPanoramic]

Another question, how are the crew members, which are stuck abroad, payed for that wasted time? Do they get 100%, or is it less?

Anyway, in BRU, I saw a Delta, but what are the foreign planes stuck here?

[sn26567]

Currently over Belgium, according to radarvirtuel.com

Flight Number : BLX640F
Company : TUIfly Nordic
ICAO Hex Code : 4A81BB
Reg Code : SE-DZV
Model : Boeing - B737-804/WL

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last Message : 10:12:43 UTC
Latitude : 51.11005
Longitude : 5.53058
Altitude : 12496 m - 40997 ft
Ground Speed : 785 km/h - 488 mph - 424 knots
Squawk : 3123
Heading : 230º

[Propwash]

At least the Brits are doing something

Royal Navy ships to return Britons stranded by volcano

[Desert Rat]

Another question, how are the crew members, which are stuck abroad, payed for that wasted time? Do they get 100%, or is it less?

Per diem + basic salary I guess (no Fly time).

[LAGPanoramic]

At least the Brits are doing something

Royal Navy ships to return Britons stranded by volcano

That's already something... And our government does nothing...
Our Army has 3 tourism coaches (2 Mercedes, 1 Renault) equipped with airco and toilet, why aren't these used to get people back from Southern Europe?

Another question, perhaps a stupid one from someone who's not an airline professionnal, but why can't the planes who are stuck abroad come back on a low flight level (beneath the cloud) with stranded passengers?

[Desert Rat]

Another question, perhaps a stupid one from someone who's not an airline professionnal, but why can't the planes who are stuck abroad come back on a low flight level (beneath the cloud) with stranded passengers?

Too much fuel burn...on the other hand, the load factor of the all european Airlines will make soon a jump up...it will be 100% load factor for a lot of destination and for quite a time, will the ticket price follow the curve???

[SN539]

Also a Brussels Airlines (Avro RJ85 - OODJO) airborne from Toulouse and heading north (on the way back to Brussels ???)

Currently over Belgium, according to radarvirtuel.com

Flight Number : BLX640F
Company : TUIfly Nordic
ICAO Hex Code : 4A81BB
Reg Code : SE-DZV
Model : Boeing - B737-804/WL

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last Message : 10:12:43 UTC
Latitude : 51.11005
Longitude : 5.53058
Altitude : 12496 m - 40997 ft
Ground Speed : 785 km/h - 488 mph - 424 knots
Squawk : 3123
Heading : 230º

[fcw]

Airspace over north Italy closed after two planes (1 LH, 1 IB) reported abnormal engine parameters!